‘It Is Not Our Fault; It Is Our Professors’ Fault!’ Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives on Their Own Experiences in Teacher Education Classrooms

Abstract

Teacher education programs are often accused of failing to prepare preservice teachers for real life classroom situations. In the case of research on classroom management, the focal point is often classroom teachers and their educational and behavioral goals rather than students' experiences. This study aims to explore the perspectives of preservice teachers on their attitudes and behaviors in the university classrooms. For this purpose, 40 preservice teachers, who studied in the Early Childhood Education department at a state university in Turkey, were selected. The interview was chosen as the data collection method. The interview questions were based on the questions that Cothran, Kulinna and Garrahy (2003) used in their study with the secondary physical education students. The collected data were analyzed by the constant comparison method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and common themes were constructed through the analytic induction method (LeCompte & Preissle, 1993). In this study, the findings indicated that incompatible behaviors served different functions in teacher education classrooms. The preservice teachers perceived punitive teacher responses to students' negative behaviors as compelling, ineffective and mostly humiliating practices. The preservice teachers provided three main elements that affect their attitudes, behaviors and experiences in a teacher education classroom. These elements were related to students, teachers, and the context of the classroom. The preservice teachers perceived their positive or negative behaviors mostly as reactions to the behavior of the teacher and the classroom environment.

E-Learning in Institute of Higher Education

“…Students from high IND culture have higher tolerance in many situations such as being more receptive to alternative thoughts or where students are more receptive to different teachers' opinions in the classroom (Yasar 2019). In addition, universities and colleges are one of the most important places where freedom of speech is better than other places.…”

“…In addition, universities and colleges are one of the most important places where freedom of speech is better than other places. Academics tend to encourage different thoughts in their lectures, and students can ask teachers about topics that are considered important for the course (Yasar 2019).…”