Theoretically informed teacher education: how student teachers develop theories of teaching

Abstract

This thesis examines the validity of a 1983 paper which found weak links between theory and practice in teacher education, including a lack of communication between educational research and teacher decision-making. Ten final year student teachers were interviewed at Wellington College of Education. It was found that students had developed clear beliefs about teaching and learning, and how their classroom programme should be implemented. They were unable to put their beliefs into practice because of conditions in the school or classroom which were beyond their power to change. The student teachers interpreted the theory-practice gap as being between what they were able to achieve during teaching practice and what they would hope to achieve as teachers in their own classrooms. The student teachers described how they based their beliefs about teaching in the classroom on research and experiences provided by some of their college courses. They also described their personal philosophies of teaching and learning which they were required to formulate during their final year of training. This study discusses the ways in which student teacher thinking is compromised by the lack of coherence between the practical and theoretical components of their programme. It recommends policy changes which would provide a collaborative model of professional development involving lecturers, associate teachers, and students, and which would enable the student teachers to experience more success with implementing their ideas about teaching and learning during their teaching practice.