Chinese Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Practicum under Contrasting Contexts: Implications for Rural Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Globally, much of the criticism has been directed at the quality of university-based teacher education in preparing teachers for impoverished schools. Drawing on data from an incentive program of teacher education in China, the authors comparatively investigated the field experiences of pre-service teachers from contrasting setting (urban and rural schools). Under the perspective of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, the study focused on participants' perception of teaching practicum and how well the program had prepared them for rural schools. The particular attention has been paid to whether the less-successful teaching practicum, such as lack of knowledge and skills of instructing diverse students, influenced pre-service teachers' commitment to teach in rural schools. We found pre-service teachers who taught in urban schools reported more positive field experiences and higher teaching commitment than those in rural places. The rural per-service teachers have reported more difficulties in linking their college courses with actual practice and settings. The policy implications for rural teacher preparation have been discussed as well.

Freedom to Learn-Independent Campus: EFL Preservice Teachers’ Voice on Their Pedagogical Competence

“…Moreover, considering the value of mentoring that is overlooked by the school mentor or university supervisor also encourages this issue to arise. While school mentors must learn about their student teachers' perceptions, needs, and expectations as they learn to teach, they must also view mentoring as a valuable opportunity for their professional development so that they can involve student teachers in various types of work (e.g., student management and classroom teaching), promote them to explore with innovative ideas, and participate in collaboration and mutual reflections (Roberts, 2018;Yuan, 2016).…”