Student Teacher Perceptions of Effective Teaching: A developmental perspective

This paper reports on the results of a research study on student teacher perceptions of effective teaching. Comments from unstructured student teacher journals, kept during a three week field experience, were coded and compared across the three cohorts of student teachers involved in the study. The study has identified a complex development amongst student teachers. They move from a teacher centred to a pupil centred view of instruction, from a personal to a professional view of relationships with pupils, and from a 'control' to a holistic view of classroom management. These transitions often confront them with conflicting views of what good teaching is, and create personal dissonance for many as they try to make sense of the teacher's role. We argue that the apparent transition of student teachers from pupil centred to more managerial perspectives of effective teaching is of concern, given the centrality of pupil-teacher relations in contemporary models of effective teaching. We suggest it is up to teacher educators to transform field experience into an arena where student teachers can research and discuss teacher effectiveness as a problematic construct.