Sources of support for pre‐service teachers during school experience

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to report on the changing sources of support structures utilised by pre‐service teachers during a series of school experiences (SEs). A sample of pre‐service teachers was interviewed after their final SE. These students were in their last year of a four‐year Bachelor of Education degree at a college in southern England. The interviews were semi‐structured and focused on categories that originated from previous research. Sources of support were both formal (college tutors and teacher tutors) and informal (other pre‐service teachers, host families and other teachers). It appeared that the respondents moved from formal to informal sources of support as they progressed through the series of SEs. They particularly valued immediate professional support and advice from their teacher tutors and also the social support of their pre‐service and teacher colleagues. This supports the view that learning to teach is a constructivist activity where novitiates move from peripheral participation on SE into a full community of practice (the world of teachers) as suggested by situated learning theory. A further theme that emerged was that of the split responsibility for assessment between college tutors and teacher tutors.

Keywords:

• school experience
• physical education
• student teacher

Notes

1. The work in schools that students of physical education in higher education undertake has gone by a variety of titles: teaching practice, clinical work, internships, and so on. For the purposes of this paper this component of the degree course will be referred to as school experience (SE).

2. The college students who undertake SE are referred to by a number of different titles: student teachers, interns, pre‐service teachers, or sometimes just students. We have attempted to use the term, pre‐service teachers, throughout for clarity of expression. However, there are times where the subjects are referred to as students. It will be apparent by the context of the discussion that we are talking about the same group of people, i.e. the subjects of this paper.

3. The college tutor is the member of staff from the parent college responsible for supervising the school experience of the pre‐service teacher. The teacher tutor is the member of staff at the school responsible for day to day supervision of the pre‐service teacher.

4. The respondents were labelled male, 1; male, 2; etc. and female, 1; female, 2, etc. to ensure anonymity.