INVESTIGATING SCHOOL PLACEMENT AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REFLECTION FOR PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS

Andromachi Filippidi, Vasiliki S. Fotopoulou, Natassa Raikou

Abstract


This paper focuses on documenting the reflections of undergraduate students in the early childhood education programme with regard to their experience with school placement in kindergarten. Their views on the importance of school placement, the implementation of activities they design, the teaching process and the interactions developed in the classroom are studied. A review of responses indicates that most students can attribute the importance of their school placement to a number of factors related, firstly, to the acquisition of experience, but also to more complex factors relating to communication and the interaction of the students themselves with kindergarten children, as well as the link between academic knowledge and its practical application. At the same time, it is highlighted the fact that, through the process of reflection, the students are willing to revise some of their choices while planning and implementing educational activities. In conclusion, it appears that the study of student reflection is a complex “mechanism” which nevertheless appears to be quite significant in preparing future teachers and can contribute to improving the operational framework of practical work experience (school placement), with a direct impact on the feedback to the knowledge they are provided.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

DOI

Keywords


school placement, student-teachers, reflection, professional identity

Full Text:

PDF

References


Cowie, B., & Bell, B. (1999). A Model of Formative Assessment in Science Education. Assessment in Education, 6, 101-116.

Cranton, P., (2000). Individual differences and transformative learning. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think. Chicago: Regnery.

Dewey, J. (1938, 1980). Experience and Education (transl. L. Polenakis). Athens: Glaros (in Greek).

Fotopoulou, V. S. & Ifanti A. A. (2011). The contribution of teaching practice upon undergraduate student-teachers to their professional identity development. In V. D. Oikonomidis, Teachers’ teaching and training. Theoretical and research approaches (pp. 509-520). Athens: Pedio (in Greek).

Fotopoulou, V. S. (2017). Investigating undergraduate student-teachers’ professional identity during their teaching practice. An empirical research. Paidagogiki Epitheorisi, 64(34), 164-183 (in Greek).

Meyer, D. (2009). Entering the emotional practices of teaching. In P.A. Schutz & M. Zembylas (Eds.), Advantages in teacher emotion research (pp. 73-91). Dordrecht: Springer.

Mezirow, J., Taylor, E., & Ass. (2009). Transformative Learning in Practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Raikou, N. (2014a). Promoting critical reflection through teacher’s education. Educational Journal of the University of Patras UNESCO Chair, 1(1), 11-19.

Raikou, N. (2014b). Preparing critical teachers in University: The role of school placement in teachers’ education. Journal of Social Science Research, 4(2), 485-488.

Raikou, N. (2019). Teacher Education at the forefront: Long-term study through the prism of University Pedagogy and Transformative Learning theory. European Journal of Education Studies, 6/3, 88-102.

Raikou, N., Liodaki, N., & Karalis, T. (2016). Critical reflection and dialogue on pre-service teachers’ school placement, In D. Andritsakou, & E. Kostara (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd Conference of ESREA’s Network Interrogating Transformative Processes in Learning and Education: An International Dialogue ‘The Role, Nature and Difficulties of Dialogue in Transformative Learning (pp. 307-315). Athens: ESREA & Hellenic Adult Education Association.

Raikou, Ν., Karalis, A., & Kampeza, M. (2017). Encouraging pre-service teachers to reflect on their teaching during school placement. In D-M. Kakana & P. Manoli (Eds.), Digital Proceedings from the 3rd International Symposium on New Issues on Teacher Education-ISNITE 2015 (pp. 372-380). Volos: University of Thessaly Press.

Richert, A. E. (1991). Using Teacher Cases for Reflection and Enhanced Understanding. In A. Lieberman & L. Miller (Eds.), Staff Development for Education in the ‘90s (pp. 113-132). New York: Teachers College Press.

Slade, M. L.; Burnham, T. J. Dr.; Catalana, S. M., & Waters, T. (2019). The Impact of Reflective Practice on Teacher Candidates' Learning, International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(2), article 15.

Yuan, R., & Lee, I. (2016). ‘I need to be strong and competent’: A narrative inquiry of a student-teacher’s emotions and identities in teaching school placement. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 22(7), 819-841




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejae.v0i0.2662

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2015 - 2023. European Journal of Alternative Education Studies (ISSN 2501-5915) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).