Bridging the gap between theory and practice: the impact of school–university partnership in a PETE program

ABSTRACT

This study examined the impact of early childhood in physical education (ECPE) practicum experiences on pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) perceptions on the development of the knowledge base. Specifically, this study focused on how PSTs bridged the gap between knowledge learned during campus classes and practicum experiences in an early childhood (EC) public school. Eighteen PSTs participated in practicum experiences embedded in two ECPE courses from a physical education teacher education program in Brazil. Data collection included focus group interviews. Data analysis was conducted through thematic categorical content analysis using a hermeneutic perspective to code the internal structure of the theme and their relationships. Participants initiated their practicum experiences based on academic knowledge in ECPE. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that new knowledge was generated through multiple and repeated practical lessons within their own singularities. These contextual singularities allowed PSTs to re-elaborate their knowledge and produce new ways to respond to different teaching situations. Participants acknowledged the importance of knowledge of students, the benefits of implementing different teaching styles and the need of improving common content knowledge in ECPE. The findings of this study indicate that the partnership between university and school was an effective way to bridge the gap between theory and practice. This partnership provided identification and application of teachers’ knowledge base.

KEYWORDS:

• Brazilian education
• reflective teaching
• pre-service teachers
• teachers’ knowledge base
• PETE program
• physical education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).