Examining the influence of occupational socialisation on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of Models-Based Practice

ABSTRACT

Ideas and beliefs about teaching, profoundly influenced by observations and experiences as K-12 pupils, are not easily disrupted. Physical Education Teacher Education, when beliefs might be examined, has long been criticised as a weak intervention to combat the powerful influence of K-12 socialisation. The purpose of this research was to gain insights into teacher educator practice by describing the influence of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) occupational socialisation on their learning about and through Models-Based Practice (MBP). Multiple forms of qualitative data generated by nine PSTs enrolled in courses founded in MBP were analyzed using a deductive approach to map concepts from occupational socialisation theory onto the data. Two ways of disrupting PSTs’ ideas and beliefs about teaching are offered: (a) making the unfamiliar familiar and (b) a modest critical approach to innovation. The articulation of such practices holds possibilities for ways in which teacher educator practice might influence PSTs’ socialisation.

KEYWORDS:

• Models-Based Practice
• modest critical pedagogy
• occupational socialisation theory
• pre-service teachers
• self-study of teacher education practices

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kellie Baker

Kellie Baker (she, her, hers) is a teacher educator at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Kellie’s research areas include approaches to the teaching and learning of physical education and teacher education, continued professional development through practitioner research, and policy development.