Reducing practice-shock: First-year student teachers' experiences of a campus-based teaching practice model

Abstract

Most initial teacher education programmes include a compulsory teaching practice module and there are various models that could be used for first-year students' teaching practice. In South Africa, the Minimum Requirements for Teachers Education Qualification document provides guidelines for teaching practice in initial teacher education programmes, but it does not include specific implementation guidelines. To address this gap, a campus-based teaching practice model to prepare and support first-year students was implemented at a South African university. In this article, I explore first-year students' experiences of this model. I used a mixed methods research design to address this aim. I found, according to their claims, that 89% of participants had benefitted from this model since it provided them with critical insight into what it means to be a teacher. The results of this research could benefit teacher educators and initial teacher education institutions in other places.