Enabling conditions for student teachers learning to teach on teaching practicum

Abstract

This paper concerns itself with conditions which enabled the learning experiences of student teachers on teaching practicum at resource-constrained schools in the greater Cape Town area. While the importance of teaching practicum is widely discussed, the specific enabling conditions which inform student teachers’ experiences of learning to teach in schools on teaching practicum is not. Student teachers at one university chose to be part of this study. This is a qualitative, empirical study which gathers data through successive semi-structured interviews, after observing a lesson taught on teaching practicum. The findings were that the productive relationships with mentor teachers and the care that the student teachers felt for their pupils, were the enabling conditions in their learning to teach, leading them to develop new ways of teaching to reach their pupils better. The conclusion is that relational aspects on teaching practicum are important to learning to teach. The study offers insights into the specific conditions, on teaching practicum, which enable learning to teach.