Student Teachers’ Classroom Impact during Their Practicum in the Times of the Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted societal structures worldwide. In the educational realm, the forced closure, and subsequent reopening of school settings disrupted the personal and professional lives of administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Two groups of Spanish stakeholders affected by the return to face-to-face instruction during the pandemic were the University of Extremadura’s student teachers and their mentors during the practicum, as student teaching is known in Spain. This study investigated 28 student teachers’ and 26 mentors’ responses to a questionnaire enquiring on the main challenges resulting from the pandemic, as well as student teachers’ contributions to the classroom during this difficult time. Cualitative software was used to analyze participants’ responses allowed us to identify four main themes: attitudes; classroom management issues; adaptations and restrictions; and academic–experiential modifications. Overall, the findings revealed student teachers’ and mentors’ positive opinions about their joint work experience and about student teachers’ logistical and technological support.

Impacts of COVID‐19 on social work teaching and learning in Bangladesh

“…Chat forums enhanced the accessibility of academic support because students could seek clarification on their queries and concerns at their convenience. In developed nations, teachers and students reported positive experiences and effective study during this pandemic (Alonso‐Díaz et al., 2023). In Bangladesh, both teachers and students reported more negative experiences.…”

“…In developed nations, teachers and students reported positive experiences and effective study this pandemic (Alonso-Díaz et al, 2023).…”

Competences Expected and Gained during the Teaching Practicum: Analysis of Three Competence Areas Affected during the Pandemic

“…Although the measures implemented in classrooms and in schools [17][18][19] were aimed at facilitating face-to-face teaching in a safe context, they could have affected the development of the Practicum for students on teacher training degrees. Thus, it is possible that Practicum students might have had limited opportunities to establish contact, communication and interaction with teaching staff in schools, to hold meetings with families to discuss follow-ups in tutorials or to establish links with students in schools [20][21][22][23]. On the other hand, students also appreciated positive aspects, in relation to the use of technology and the improvement of their digital competences [22,24,25], as well as regarding the possibilities offered by online learning in the educational process in any circumstance [21,23,26].…”