Student-teachers' attitudes and perspectives on their preparedness for the teaching profession

Tea Gavrilović Smolić, Dijana Posedi

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education

tea.gavrilovicsmolic@ufzg.hr

Education for personal and professional development

Abstract

Teaching practice courses, which provide student-teachers with the opportunities to apply their theoretical knowledge of teaching methodology to practice, represent a vital component of teacher training programs. In a fast-paced changing environment of today’s world, teachers are faced with various challenges of adapting their teaching practices to meet the needs of the learners. The methodology courses are expected to provide future teachers with specific competences which will prepare and enable them to cope with the demands of the teaching profession.

The authors of the study aim to gain insight into the attitudes and perspectives on the preparedness and readiness for the teaching profession of the student-teachers at the end of their final year of studies. The acquisition and development of key competences and skills related to teaching young learners are also explored, as well as specific areas of the teaching profession which student-teachers find most challenging.

The participants of the study are fifth-year students of a university study program for primary teacher education with the English language. To collect data, the participants will be requested to complete online questionnaires which will be administered at the end of the summer semester of the 2023/2024 academic year. The results will be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. 

The research should provide insight into the efficacy of the teaching practice courses, as well as potentially reveal the areas within pre-service teacher education where enhancement is needed to provide the future teachers with adequate groundwork for the challenges of the 21st century language classroom.

Key words

English teaching; teacher education; teaching competences; teaching profession; young learners