Exploring Challenges Faced by Student Teachers in Teaching Practice: A Research Inquiry (Published)
The study is a descriptive survey design, questionnaires was used to analyse the difficulties faced by the student teachers during their teaching practice and looks for common challenges faced by the student teachers in applying theoretical understanding to practical teaching setting. The findings of this research will contribute to a deeper understanding challenges inherent in teacher training programs and inform strategies for improving the preparation and support provided to aspiring educators.
Keywords: : Teaching practice, Challenges, Student teachers, teacher training
Issues of Quality in Teaching Practice Supervision among Open Distance Students: Student and Lecturer Input (Published)
While Teaching Practice (TP) students are expected to carry out teaching duties as guided by their training institutions and instructions from the school managers, there is need that all stakeholders get involved to improve the quality of the practicum. As such, the purpose of TP supervision is meant to achieve the set of objectives of training and building up a teacher to the level of acceptable standard. This study was conducted with the open distance students who were following up a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education at Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU). The study employed focus group method with participants and a few open ended questionnaires were administered. In the study it was established that TP supervision was regarded as effective in some ways such as being timeous but not productive in giving students room to air their opinions as discussions were dictatorial and hurriedly done. The study suggests, among other things, a relook by the University on the minimum numbers of students each TP supervisor should supervise on a given day, especially in remote areas where schools are far apart.
Keywords: : Teaching practice, Student, Supervision, distance learning, student teacher