International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

Keeping the Practicum of Chinese Preservice Teacher Education in World's Perspective

Open access
The paper analyses the practicum programme offered in Chinese Teacher Education institutions (TEI) as compared with that of the other countries of the world. Researchers explored the ways to improve Chinese practicum programme comparing it with that of some developed and developing countries of the world. Practicum experiences of ten universities of the world from different countries were analyzed with objective to compare Chinese practicum. There emerged three basic issues from the study; the duration, timing, and mode of practicum. The researchers identified that the time allocated to practicum experiences in China was too short; the timing for sending student teachers (STs) to the field (schools) was inappropriate, and the mode of practicum adopted was outdated. The time should be expanded for practicum experiences and the practicum should be integrated throughout the programme. The STs should be sent to schools as early as possible. The other countries integrate practicum into the whole (teacher education programme) TEP ramifying it into different stages, which is also recommended for the Chinese TEI.
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education 2010. The Clinical Preparation of Teachers: A Policy Brief
Antioch University 2010. Practicum Handbook. Waldorf Teacher Education Program New England
Beck C & Kosnik C 2002. Components of a Good Practicum Placement: Student Teacher Perceptions. Teacher Education Quarterly, Spring 2002 81-98 (29, no. 2: 81_98.)
Behets D 1990. Concerns of preservice physical education teachers. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 10:66-75.
Bezzina C & Michalak J 2008. Preparing student teachers for teaching practicum. In A. Swennen and K. Marcel (ed.). Becoming a teacher educator: Theory and practice for teacher educators, 163–71. Amsterdam: Springer.
Butt G 1994. The role of the higher education tutor. In A.Williams (Ed.), Perspectives on partnership: Secondary initial teacher training (pp. 118-133). London: Falmer.
Cavanagh M & Prescott A 2010. The growth of reflective practice among three beginning secondary mathematics teachers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 38, No. 2, May 2010, 147–159
Chen J & Mu Z 2010. The Cross-national Comparison of Pre-service Mathematics Teacher Education and Curriculum Structure. Journal of Mathematics Education, Vol. 3, No. 1. pp. 119-136.
Chireshe R & Chireshe E 2010. Student Teachers’ Perceptions Towards Teaching Practice Assessment. South African Journal of Higher Education, 24:511-524.
Daresh JC 1990. Learning by doing: Research on the educational administration practicum. Journal of Educational Administration 28: 34–47.
Darling-Hammond L & Ducommon CE 2011. Transforming Teacher Education. In Summit on Transformative Change in the Preparation of Teachers, California State University Summit
Darling-Hammond L, Wise A, & Klein S 1995. A license to teach: Building a profession for 21st century schools. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Fei N 2007. Analysis of strategies for problems in the current teaching practice system. Education in Tibet 1: 8–9.
Guo SB 1996. Adult teaching and learning in China. Convergence, (29)1: 21–33
Guo SB 2005. Exploring current issues in teacher education in China. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 51(1): 69–84
Guo S & Pungur L 2008. Exploring teacher education in the context of Canada and China: A cross-cultural dialogue. Frontiers of Education in China, 3 (2): 246-269
Handal G & Lauvas P 1987. Promoting reflective teaching: Supervision in action. Milton Keynes, UK: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.
Heeralal PJ & Bayaga A 2011. Pre-service teachers’ experiences of teaching practice: case of South African University. Journal of Social Sciences, 28(2): 99-105.
Hill H, Ball DL & Schilling S 2008. Unpacking pedagogical content knowledge:Conceptualizing and measuring teachers’ topic specific knowledge of students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4): 372- 400.
Huber MT & Hutchings P 2005. The Advancement of Learning: Building the Teaching Commons. NY: Jossey-Bass.
Huling L 1997. Novice teacher needs. Commissioned paper prepared for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh, NC.
Jaworski B 2006. Theory and practice in mathematics teaching development: Critical inquiry as a mode of learning in teaching. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 9, 187-211.
Karammustafaoglu O 2009. A comparative analysis of the models of teacher education in terms of teaching practices in the USA, England, and Turkey. Education, Vol. 130 (2), pp. 172-183.
Kiggundu E 2007. Teaching practice in the Greater Vaal Triangle Area: The student teachers experience. Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 4:25-35.
Kiggundu E & Nayimuli S 2009. Teaching practice: a make or break phase for student teachers. South African Journal of Education, Vol. 29: 345-358
Laurentian University 2011-12. Professional Year Practicum Handbook 2011-2012. Ontario: Greater Sudbury, Canada.
Leshem S & Bar-Hama R (2007). Evaluating teaching practice. ELT Journal 62, no. 3: 257–65.
Li DF 1999. Modernization and teacher education in China. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15, 179–192
Liu X & Xu B 2007. Urgent issues in teaching practice. Education and Profession, 5: 164–5.
MacKinnon D 1989. Living with conformity in student teaching. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 35:2-19.
Maphosa C, Shumba A & Shumba J 2007. Mentorship for students on teaching practice in Zimbabwe: Are student teachers getting a raw deal? South African Journal of Higher Education, 2: 296-307.
Marais P & Meier C 2004. Hear our voices: student teachers’ experiences during practical teaching. Africa Education Review, 1 (2) pp. 220-233
McBride RE 1984. Perceived teaching and program concerns among preservice teachers, university supervisors, and cooperating teachers. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 3:36-43.
Murray-Harvey R, Slee PT, Lawson MJ, Silins H, Banfield G & Russel A 2000. Under stress: The concerns and coping strategies of teacher education students. European Journal of Teacher Education 18, no. 7: 763–80.
Menter, I. (1989). Teaching Stasis: Racism, sexism and school experience in initial teacher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 10:459-473.
Nancy L 2007. Critical thinking dispositions as an outcome of undergraduate education. The Journal of General Education, 56(1): 17-33.
National Institute of Education 2012. Undergraduate Practicum. Singapore. Retrieved on May 28, 2012 from http://www.nie.edu.sg/practicum/practicum-structure/undergraduate-programmes
Nelson CE 2007. Student Diversity Requires Different Approaches to College Teaching, Even in Math and Science. From (Retrieved on 05 November, 2010).
Ngidi DP & Sibaya PT 2003. Student teacher anxieties related to practice teaching. South African Journal of Education, 23(1) : 18-22.
Paine L 1990. The teacher as virtuoso: A Chinese model for teaching. Teacher College Record, 92(1): 49–81
Perry R 2004. Teaching practice for early childhood. A guide for students. Available at http://www Routledge.com catalogues./0418114838.pdf. Accessed 18 July 2009.
Quick G & Sieborger R 2005. What matters in practice teaching? The perception of schools and students. South African Journal of Education, 25:1-4.
Salem State University 2011. Practicum Handbook. School of Education, Office of Licensure and Field Placement
Salvatori M 2010. Contemporary Practices in Ontario Programs of Professional Education: Practice Teaching Resource 2010. Ontario: Ontario College of Teachers Canada
Stanton TK & Giles DE 1989. Curriculum development for long-distance internships: Some principles, models and issues. In Making sense of experiential learning, ed. SW Weil & I McGill 179–89. Buckingham, UK: The Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.
Schön DA 1983. The reflective practitioner. London: Temple Smith.
Shulman LS 1987. Knowledge as teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57: 1–22.
Smith K & Lev-Ari L 2005. The place of the practicum in pre-service teacher education: The voice of the students. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education 33, no. 3: 289–302.
Smith K & Snoek M 1996. Dutch and Israel student teachers’ views on their future roles as teachers. Paper presented to the Annual Association of Teacher Education in Europe, in September at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland.
University Brunei Darussalam 2008. Practicum Handbook 2008. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education. Brunei Darussalam.
University of Canberra 2012. Course: Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Arts (111JA). Australia. Retrieved on July 23, 2012. From the website http://www.canberra.edu.au/courses-units/dd/education/111aa/course-outline
University of Capetown 2012. Teaching Practice Handbook. School of Education. Retrieved From http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/educate/download/tphandbook.pdf on May 26, 2012.
The Universtiy of Edinburgh 2012. Primary Education (BEd). Retrieved from http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/education/undergraduate/degree-programmes/primary-ed on May 26, 2012
University of Glasgow, Scot Land 2012. Programme Structure, Primary Education with Teaching Qualification. Retrieved on July 23, 2012. From the website http://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/primaryeducationtq
University of Hong Kong 2011. B.Ed programme Handbook (2011-12). Faculty of Education. Hong Kong. Retrieved on May 28, 2012 From the website http://web.edu.hku.hk/programme/bedlibst/docs/BEd_Handbook_2011-12_Web_version.pdf
University of Newcastle, Australia. Professional experience 1. Retrieved from http://www.newcastle.edu.au/course/EDST2050.html on July 15, 2012
University of New Delhi. BEl.Ed Prospectus 2012. Faculty of Education. New Delhi.
Ur P 1992. Teacher learning. ELT Journal 46, no. 1: 56–61.
Ure C 2009. Practicum Partnerships: Exploring Models of Practicum Organisation in Teacher Education for a Standards-Based Profession Final Report. Australian Learning Teaching Council
Wang Q & Ren Q 2002. New model of teaching practicum in the new century. Huaibei Coal Normal Institute Journal, 23, no. 3: 14–8.
Wang Y & Gao Y 2007. Problems in teaching practice and strategies. Taiyuan Normal Institute Journal, 4: 155–6.
Yan C & He C 2010. Transforming the existing model of teaching practicum: a study of Chinese EFL student teachers’ perceptions. Journal of Education for Teaching, Vol. 36, No. 1, February 2010, 57–73
Wendt JC & Bain LL 1989. Concerns of preservice and inservice physical educators. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 8:177-180.
Zhang JB 1995. Teacher preparation in China. In J. Lane (ed), Ferment in Education: A Look Abroad. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 148–156
Nanzhao Z & Muju Z 2007. Educational Reforms and Curriculum Change in China: A comparative Case Study. International Bureau of education.
Zhou ZY 2002. The teaching profession: To be or to do? Journal of Education for Teaching, 28(3): 211–215
Zhu X & Han X 2006. Reconstruction of the teacher education system in China. International Education Journal, 7(1), 66-73