Modelling and validating the learning opportunities of preservice language teachers: on the key components of the curriculum for teacher education

Abstract

Opportunities to learn (OTL) is used as a research concept for describing and analysing the curriculum of a programme which frames the learning and development of preservice teachers. Typical elements of teacher education programmes are investigated: the representation of content in courses of the subject, subject-related pedagogy and general pedagogy, as well as facets of teaching practice. Two research questions are focused on, one related to the OTL structure, another one to validating the OTL. Data from 289 preservice language teachers from Germany is used. They just had graduated from university and were surveyed using a novel OTL measurement. Findings on the structure of OTL show the key components can be identified and empirically separated. Validation analysis shows that the more coherent the preservice teachers perceived their university–school relationship the better they were able to profit from their teaching practice. Teaching practice is the central component effecting preservice teachers’ self-reported planning competence.

Keywords:

• Opportunities to learn
• language teacher
• curriculum
• preservice teachers
• teacher education

Notes

1. In Germany, depending on the federal state, various denotations for lower secondary schools exist. These school types have in common that, as contrasted with the Gymnasium, they serve as the nonacademic track that provides lower secondary education. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the federal state of our study, the following three lower secondary school types exist: Hauptschule, Realschule, Gesamtschule.

2. The PlanvoLL-D project is entitled ‘The Role of Professional Knowledge of Pre-Service German Teachers in their Lesson Planning’ [‘Die Bedeutung des professionellen Wissens angehender Deutschlehrkräfte für ihre Planung von Unterricht’] and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (BMBF). The analyses prepared for this article and the views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BMBF.