Student teachers’ perceptions of a Wits rural teaching experience project: What to learn and improve

Abstract

In South Africa all universities send education student teachers to schools for teaching practice as part of their preparation for teaching. Of concern is the lack of research investigating pre-service teachers' experiences of teaching practice, especially in rural and farm schools. Although several rural teaching practice projects have been established by various teacher education training institutions in South Africa, of concern and problematic for the article is knowledge gap that understand student teachers' perceptions and experiences after undertaking teaching practicum in rural schools. The article present student teachers' perceptions of Wits rural teaching practicum, and use a qualitative approach, semi-structured reflective discussions, and reflective journals to collect data. The findings show that education student teachers want to be part of the rural community and schools, rather than being 'tourists' and 'scientists'. Collaboration between preservice and in-service teachers is identified as crucial to share teaching skills and mentor new teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]