Student teachers’ situated emotions: a study of how electronic communication facilitates their expression and shapes their impact on novice teacher development during practice placements

Abstract

Research suggests that pre‐service teaching students embarking on practice placements encounter affect both in a personal and a professional sense more acutely than at any other time during their professional careers. A few studies emphasise the use of electronic communications in facilitating effective peer and tutor support during these difficult times. This study aimed to find out how pre‐service student teachers expressed emotions through ubiquitous computing (the use of mobile devices to facilitate wireless and seamless communications and data applications) and in turn, to investigate how this affected their experiences and practices as novice teachers. The results are presented as an analysis of emotional exchanges and experiences during the students’ teaching practice placements. Discussion is focused on the role of ubiquitous computing in understanding student teachers’ emotional experiences in the field.

Keywords:

• emotions
• student teachers
• development
• technology
• support