Mediating Writing in Multilingual Classrooms: A Study of Colleges of Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Pedagogies in Ghanaian Basic Schools (Published)
Writing instruction is among the most intricate dimensions of English language teaching, especially for pre-service teachers negotiating the boundary between theory and practice. This study examines the challenges faced and strategies employed by final-year pre-service teachers teaching English Language Writing in Ghanaian basic schools. Anchored in a pragmatist paradigm and a sequential explanatory design, the study surveyed 212 pre-service teachers (Cronbach’s α = .82), followed by semi-structured interviews. The descriptive analysis of the survey and the thematic analysis of the interviews converge on two principal challenges. Most respondents cited heterogeneous proficiency (84%) and insufficient materials (79%) as persistent constraints. Conversely, task sequencing, mentor feedback, and collaborative writing emerged as consistently effective pedagogical strategies. Framed by Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory (SCT), the findings show how mediation, scaffolding, and collaborative learning enable interns to translate theoretical knowledge into responsive classroom practice. The study contributes to teacher education literature by extending SCT applications to pre-service teacher preparation in multilingual and resource-variable contexts. Strengthening structured mentorship, embedding differentiated writing instruction in teaching practice expectations, and improving resource provision to consolidate a sustainable and inclusive writing pedagogy during internships are recommended.
Keywords: Colleges Of Education, English language teaching, Pedagogies, Pre-Service Teachers, multilingual classrooms, writing
The Effectiveness of Teacher Education Program: Identifying the Difficulties and Challenges Faced by the Pre-Service English Teachers (Published)
The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent pre-service teachers apply the methods, theory, and training received during training in the teacher training program into their classroom teaching. The sample involved in the study were pre-service teachers from the Bachelor in Education TESL program who had just completed their 3-month teaching practicum and are currently in the final semester. This study employed a qualitative research design and the data sources included (open-ended) pre-service teacher questionnaires and document analysis. The questionnaire distribution phase was conducted with 68 pre-service teachers who came for a one-day post mortem of their teaching practicum. From the analysis of the qualitative data, the findings derived four themes that best described the codes from the participants’ responses: dealing with students in class, the pre-service teachers’ self-belief, the supervisors, and the schools, which reflect the difficulties and challenges faced by the pre-service teachers.
Keywords: Challenges in Teaching, Pre-Service Teachers, Teacher Education