Teaching Practice in B. Ed: Prospective Teachers’ Perception of Theory and Practice

Abstract

Teaching practice is the core component of whole teacher training process. This part not only allows prospective teachers to use their skills and enhance their abilities, but it also trains them for future job placement. Here the question arises that does teaching practice help prospective teachers to learn all teaching techniques, which is essential to gain mastery in teaching process or they get caught between the loopholes of theoretical ideal views and constraints of real classroom situations. The purpose of the study was to investigate the gap between theory taught during course-work and practical implementation of that knowledge during teaching practice. Another objective of the study was to assess the competency level of prospective teachers for teaching practice. It was hypothesized that prospective teachers do have sufficient content knowledge, awareness of pedagogical teaching strategies and teaching practice before the commencement of teaching practice. Sixty alumni of B.ED program, who passed out during last five years were randomly selected as samples for the following study. A structured questionnaire consisted of 25 items including content knowledge and understanding, pedagogical content knowledge, and application of gained knowledge and learned skills were designed to gather data. The questionnaire was based on a Lickert scale to gather responses. The data were analyzed by using the percentage method. After analysis of results, it can be recommended that teacher in-charges should also be assessed for their skills to apprise prospective teachers. Furthermore, there should be a comprehensive exam of prospective teachers before the commencement of teaching practice that should be designed and conducted under direct supervision of NACTE or its appointed team. It will be a great step to ensure quality teaching in teacher education programs.