Introduction

Teaching practice is a vital phase in the professional development of preservice teachers, helping them bridge the gap between theory and classroom application. However, many struggle with this connection due to the compartmentalized nature of teacher education and the absence of standardized frameworks. As a result, preservice teachers often graduate feeling underprepared, highlighting the need for improved teacher education models. Reflective practice has emerged as a valuable tool for enhancing preservice teachers’ professional growth by deepening their understanding of teaching roles and improving the integration of theory and practice. This study examines the impact of structured reflective practice on preservice teachers’ professional identity and pedagogical competencies during teaching practice, employing a narrative inquiry approach. A qualitative case study design was used, involving all 396 preservice teachers from St. Paul’s University who participated in teaching practice in 2024. Data were collected through structured reflective diaries and analyzed thematically to identify patterns in their evolving professional identities and competencies. Findings revealed varied outcomes: while many narratives demonstrated growth and identity development, others reflected limited reflective skills and weak connections to the teaching profession early on. The reflections also highlighted gaps in teaching knowledge and skills, underscoring the critical role of reflective practice, mentorship, and a supportive school environment in professional development. The study recommends integrating structured reflection into teacher training, along with planned mentorship and quality feedback, to better link teacher education theory with real-world classroom practice. This calls for a review of current teaching practice models.

How do Pre-service Teachers Develop Understanding of Student Learning through Action Research Project

<p>「教學實習課程協同師徒制」課程是將「協同教學」及「師徒制」兩概念結合於教學實習課程，由實習教學教授及實習教學教師協同教學，而實習教學教師與師資生則為師徒關係，以師徒制進行此課程。本研究以參與此課程之41位師資生、6位實習教學教師及2位實習教學教授為研究對象，使用半結構式訪談法及文件分析法，歸納「教學實習課程協同師徒制」之運作模式，以及探究師資生在該課程中之專業成長。結果顯示：一、實習課程包含「課室內」及「課室外」課程，課室內課程包含基礎觀念建立、教學準備、省思與檢討；課室外課程包含三循環教學和集中實習。二、師資生在教學技巧之專業成長為：瞭解教學活動必須呼應教學目標及結合學生生活經驗，並能妥善運用引導討論、合作學習、溝通表達及教學媒體等教學技巧，最終以多元評量分析學生學習成果；師資生在班級經營之專業成長為：師資生能制定合宜的班級規範及獎勵制度、習得建立良善的親師生關係之技巧，並以適性輔導化解突發狀況。因此，「教學實習課程協同師徒制」確能有助於師資生在教學技巧及班級經營上之專業成長。</p> <p> </p><p>The “Co-mentorship in the Educational Practicum” Course is a course which combines the concepts of team teaching and mentoring into the teaching practice. The teaching practice courses are jointly taught by the practicum course professors and the practicum course teachers. The teachers and the pre-service teachers form a mentoring relationship and, conduct this course on a mentoring basis. In this study, 41 pre-service teachers, six practicum course teachers, and two practicum course professors participated in the Co-mentorship in the Educational Practicum Course. This study summarized the operation model of the “Co-mentorship in the Educational Practicum” Course through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. It also investigated the professional growth of the pre-service teachers in this course. The results show that: 1. He internship course consists of two parts, in-classroom and out-of-classroom. The former establishes the basic concept, teaching preparation, reflection and review; while the latter offers three-cycle teaching and intensive practice. 2. The professional growth results of pre-service teachers in teaching skills are as follows. They understood that the teaching activities should map the teaching objectives and integrate students’ living experiences. In these activities, they were able to properly use various teaching skills, such as guided discussions, cooperative learning, communication, and teaching media, and then, analyze student learning outcomes through multi-evaluations. In terms of the professional growth of pre-service teachers in class management competency, they established appropriate class policies and set up reward systems. In addition, they learned the skills required to build good teacher-student relationship and to deal with emergencies through adaptive counseling. Therefore, the “Co-mentorship in the Educational Practicum” Course can indeed promote the professional development of pre-service teachers in both teaching skills and class management.</p> <p> </p>

This study aims to investigate whether there are differences in the intentions to adopt maker education between in-service and pre-service teachers. It also seeks to identify the key factors affecting their intentions, providing insights for tailoring professional development (PD) training programs to meet the needs of teachers at different career stages. A hybrid maker-based PD program was designed and offered to both in-service and pre-service teachers. The participants' behavioral intentions to adopt maker education were assessed after the PD program using an extended Theory of Planned Behavior model. The intentions of in-service and pre-service teachers were examined, and the key factors affecting their intentions were identified using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that pre-service teachers had significantly lower intentions to adopt maker education compared to in-service teachers. For pre-service teachers, attitude was the key factor influencing their intentions, while for in-service teachers, subjective norms played a crucial role. These findings highlight the importance of tailored PD for teachers at different career stages.

Understanding the factors that demotivate English language pre-service teachers is crucial, as these future educators will significantly influence their students’ motivation and engagement with language learning. This study investigates key demotivation factors among pre-service teachers enrolled in an English education program at a public university in Indonesia. Using a sequential explanatory design, data were collected through questionnaires distributed to pre-service teachers, followed by semi-structured interviews with four selected participants. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 23, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. The quantitative findings reveal that a lack of intrinsic motivation, along with concerns about teacher competence and teaching styles, are the most prominent demotivating factors. The qualitative findings further reveal that performance pressures such as test scores intensify these experiences, helping to explain how certain factors become highly demotivating despite their lower statistical prominence. The study also contributes theoretically by extending Sakai and Kikuchi’s demotivation framework, showing how teacher-related issues, learning content, and learner psychology interact to shape pre-service teachers’ demotivation in the Indonesian EFL context. This can be achieved through more engaging coursework, opportunities for meaningful teaching experiences, and mentorship by competent educators. Furthermore, ongoing professional development for in-service teachers should also prioritize strategies to maintain motivation and improve instructional quality. By addressing these factors, both pre-service and in-service teachers will be better equipped to create motivating classroom environments, ultimately enhancing students ’ learning of English as a foreign language. The implications of these findings underscore the urgent need for teacher education programs to focus on developing and sustaining pre-service teachers’ intrinsic motivation.

This study investigates the digital competence levels of Lebanese preservice and in-service teachers using the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu). The research aims to explore the existing gap in digital competence between these two groups through a cross-sectional descriptive survey, involving 170 in-service teachers and 194 preservice teachers from various undergraduate teacher training programs in Lebanon. The findings reveal significant differences between in-service and preservice teachers in all six competence areas and no significant difference per subject areas, with in-service teachers demonstrating higher overall digital competence compared to preservice teachers. The study draws attention to the need for improved practical training and targeted interventions in teacher education programs to better prepare preservice teachers for the digital demands of modern classrooms. The findings have implications for policy and practice, particularly in enhancing teacher training programs to meet the evolving digital needs of education.

This study investigated pre-service and in-service English teachers’ efficacy beliefs about teaching English at primary schools in Turkey by revealing the teaching aspects that they felt most and least efficacious. The study also attempted to understand pre-service teachers’ views about the effectiveness of pre-service teacher education and explore which major problems in-service teachers encountered while teaching English at primary schools. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 170 pre-service and 129 in-service teachers through a questionnaire. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis, respectively. According to the findings, both groups held similar positive or negative efficacy beliefs about most teaching aspects: while they reported feeling most efficacious in ‘using visual materials’, ‘giving simple instructions’, and ‘using gestures, facial expressions and body language effectively’, they reported feeling least efficacious in ‘using mainly kinaesthetic activities’, ‘managing class time effectively’, and ‘knowing how each language skill can be developed’. Pre-service teachers agreed that the ‘teaching practicum’ was the most ineffective aspect of the programme, followed by ‘lack of practice-based courses’, ‘inadequate number of teaching English to young learners courses’, and ‘language courses’. In-service teachers reported having problems because of ‘limited class hours’, ‘poor textbooks’, ‘lack of technological resources’, ‘lack of learner preparedness’, ‘lack of learner motivation’, and ‘large classes’. In the light of these findings, implications were generated to improve the effectiveness of pre-service and in-service teacher education, which could increase the quality of education for English language students at primary schools

We compared the respective attitudes of pre-service teachers (PST) and in-service teachers (IST) towards bullying. A questionnaire survey was administered to 110 PST and 128 IST. Self-efficacy beliefs, external locus of causality and empathy for the victims were higher in IST than PST. Perceived seriousness of bullying and likelihood of intervention were higher in IST, but only in the case of overt bullying. In both PST and IST the perceived seriousness of the episode, whether overt or covert, was associated with greater empathy for the victim and greater propensity to intervene. In IST, only in the case of covert bullying, the perceived seriousness of the episode, empathy with the victims, and likelihood of intervention were negatively related to the recommendation of maladaptive strategies. These results, and their consequences on teachers’ training programmes and school preventive intervention, are discussed.

Background:The purpose of this study was to determine pre-service and in-service science and mathematics teachers’ perceptions of the characteristics of a professional teaching environment. The study further investigated the relationships of field placement contexts and grade levels on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of importance and availability of certain aspects of a professional teaching environment.Materials and methods:The teacher perceptions were assessed using the Professional Environment for Teaching Survey (PETS). The responses reflecting the teacher perceptions of importance were subjected to a principal component analysis and two components were identified. These were Resources for Teaching and Recognition of Teacher Contributions. Data obtained from pre-service teachers who (were) enrolled in a graduate teacher education licensure program at a large Midwestern university and from in-service teachers who were mentors for the pre-service teachers.Results:Correlation and forward stepwise multiple regression analyses of the data suggested that the perceptions of importance and/or availability of those pre-service or in-service teachers with more experience were related to the academic degree they held and the content that they were teaching or expecting to teach.Conclusions:Results for the in-service and pre-service teachers’ perceptions were discussed in terms of characteristics of a professional teaching environment.

A self-report scale that measures teachers’ confidence in teaching students about twenty-first century skills was developed and validated with pre-service and in-service teachers. First, 16 items were created to measure teaching confidence in six areas: information literacy, collaboration, communication, innovation and creativity, problem solving, and responsible citizenship. Then, the items were tested in two groups of pre-service teachers and two groups of in-service teachers respectively. Exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the scale’s validity and reliability. The analyses identified a three-construct scale including innovation and problem solving, collaboration, and utility of technology for pre-service teachers and a one-dimension scale, cross-functional skills, for in-service teachers. This study suggests that different scales should be used to measure in-service teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ confidence in teaching twenty-first century skills.

While pedagogical innovations in teaching are widely studied and reported, there is less focus on innovations supporting the mutual professional development of pre- and in-service teachers in general. Co-teaching, particularly with more symmetrical arrangements, can foster the development of transversal competencies that other activities and training cannot effectively improve. The present semi-systematic literature review aims to summarize different ways of co-teaching in which pre- and in-service teachers and possibly other experts work together. We analyzed 15 empirical studies and explored how co-teaching approaches, where all participants actively learn from one another, are utilized and how the roles of pre- and in-service teachers in co-teaching are described. We also identified obstacles and benefits in reported co-teaching practices. This study focuses on general education settings, excluding special education. Findings indicate that pre-service teachers are often learners, with few reports addressing mutual professional growth. While co-teaching generally has positive outcomes, challenges include aligning shared visions and roles. These insights contribute to advancing mutual co-teaching as an innovation and enhancing teachers’ professional and transversal competencies.

A plethora of researchers have attempted to examine the characteristics of a good and effective teacher in order to enhance the process of teaching foreign languages. In line with those explorations, this study aims at performing a comparison between Slovak pre-service EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers’ and Slovak in-service EFL teachers’ perceptions of a good and effective language teacher. To achieve this objective, a convenient sample of Slovak university EFL students who were pre-service teachers (n = 74) and Slovak lower-secondary and upper-secondary school teachers (n = 63) were employed in the study. Using a 57-item Likert-type questionnaire, independent-samples t-tests were conducted to investigate the potential differences between the perceptions of the pre-service teachers and in-service teachers. Moreover, the 10 highest-mean and 10 lowest-mean items of both groups were analyzed. The research results revealed that statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were detected in only 12 of the 57 items. Furthermore, a closer examination of the differences and the items with the highest and lowest means indicated that the pre-service teacher participants favored traditional teaching more than their in-service teacher counterparts, who preferred CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) to a greater extent. The potential implications of these findings indicate that the fundamental principles of CLT such as employing plenty of pair-work and group-work activities, facilitating learners’ autonomy and responsibility for their own learning, or varying classroom interaction strategies deserve more careful attention during pre-service teacher training.

In the current study we aimed to examine preservice and inservice teachers’ strategies in planning arts based interdisciplinary instructions. By focusing on teachers’ preparation for teaching mathematics lessons integrated with music-themed activities, we collected and analyzed 78 lessons plans, of which 37 lesson plans were developed by the preservice teachers and 41 lesson plans were developed by inservice teachers. The study examined and compared preservice and inservice teachers’ content foci and instructional processes in strategizing mathematics-music integrated pedagogy into their own original lesson plans. A total of 15 different ways to link music and mathematics content areas were identified from all the lesson plans. Differences in content selections and instructional processes coverage between preservice teacher and inservice teachers’ lesson plans were also explored.

This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between academic achievement (measured by GPA) and a science-related psychological variable, science identity, in higher education. Specifically, the study examined the mediating role of science identity in the relationship between academic achievement and commitment to a postgraduate career. Data drawn from 309 pre-service teachers were analyzed using structural equation modelling. The results revealed positive relationships between academic achievement, science identity, and postgraduate career commitment. Academic achievement and science identity significantly predicted pre-service teachers’ postgraduate career commitments. Furthermore, science identity served as a mediator in the relationship between academic achievement and career commitment. These findings point to the benefits of effective interventions that support the development of science identity in teacher education and development to encourage pre-service and in-service teachers’ commitment for postgraduate career. These strategies can foster pre-service and in-service teachers to engage in science-based practices, enhance their scientific competences, gain recognition from their colleagues or educators, and implement science-based practices in their own teaching.

ABSTRACTThe pre-service teacher (PST) learning process has been claimed to include multiple and complex forms of learning because various areas of knowledge growth occur at the same time. In the Sport Education (SE) literature, there has been a noticeable dearth of research regarding how PSTs learn, interpret and deliver the model. While several studies report PSTs having experienced SE prior to the formal study being carried out, to our knowledge, only one study has followed PSTs through a series of learning experiences. In this study, we used the three-level model of learning as a framework to investigate a PST’s continuing process of learning to teach SE as part of a PETE program and while teaching during the school placement component of the PETE program. The study was guided by the question, ‘How does a PST’s knowledge of teaching and learning SE develop?’ This study reports on one physical education PST learning to teach SE. The learning experience was composed of four PETE courses (two content courses and two school placements) divided into five phases. Data collection employed five semi-structured interviews, coursework and a focus group. Data were analyzed using a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive theme development. Results revealed that the PST progressively developed conscious awareness and understanding about teaching and learning SE. The comprehensive learning experience made the PST develop understanding of teaching and learning SE that reflected knowledge on an abstract level. Studying the relationships between SE concepts, while connecting them with knowledge from various PETE courses, the theoretical foundation of SE became accessible. We encourage physical education teacher educators to allow for a continuing growth of understanding where PSTs develop knowledge through various SE learning and teaching experiences tailored around their needs and concerns.