The preparation and support of science students’ teaching practice: students’, teachers’ and tutors’ perceptions of what is required

Abstract

All of the students, the teachers and the tutors taking part in a course of science teacher training at a British training institution were interviewed before, during and after the classroom experience component of the course. Their various perceptions of how the students were prepared for and supported during the teaching practice were collected and analysed. Significant discrepancies were found. The students and the teachers felt that the students were not prepared for or adequately supported by preceding courses which were too theoretical. The tutors felt that practice must follow theory. The tutors’ role as assessors interfered with their support role. The teachers felt unprepared and uneasy in their role as main support of the teaching practice experience. The implications of these findings for the current trend of putting more responsibility for teacher training into schools is discussed.