Lebanon is a socially and religiously diverse country, hence, Lebanese higher education is also diversified (Abouchedid & BouZeid, 2017). Universities are classified based on the higher education model they follow, such as the American and French models (El-Amine, 1997; BouJaoude, 2000; Ghaith, 2012). The differences in academic models can be ascribed to the philosophy of education that each model follows (Nauffal, 2009), and the curricula of each model are developed complementarily to the system they follow (Freiha, 1997). 

The American-patterned universities offer undergraduate programs like those offered in the USA. They have a credit-point course system, focus on general education and elective courses (Freiha, 1997; “Education in Lebanon,” 2017), conduct assessment frequently, and have English as the language of instruction (Nauffal, 2009). The French-patterned universities use coefficients instead of credits, offer three- or four-year degrees, and provide early specialization (BouJaoude, 2000). While literature informs us of differences in higher education in general between the two models, this study will use the review of literature as a theoretical assumption to do a comparison in Teacher Education (TE) curricula between the two models. TE is offered by 15 universities in Lebanon (El-Mouhayar & BouJaoude, 2012). Teachers are required to receive three years of undergraduate education at the education department of any university to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education (“Education in Lebanon,” 2017).

The theory of Lee Shulman will be used as a framework. According to Shulman (1986), prospective teachers acquire different knowledge bases during their initial preparation. Content Knowledge (CK) is highly specialized knowledge and is acquired in formal learning environments (Shulman, 1987). Previously, it was thought that specific content was what a teacher needed to know to teach (Kind, 2009, as cited in Fernandez, 2014). However, practical knowledge should supplement theoretical knowledge, hence, Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) is also essential. PK is psychological knowledge, it is not subject-specific, and it includes skills that help teachers create effective learning environments (Voss et al., 2011, as cited inKunter et al., 2013). Additionally, Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) has been conceptualized as the knowledge required by teachers to be able to transfer content to students (Kleickmann et al., 2012). PCK differentiates a pedagogue from an expert in content and is thus important for prospective teachers to acquire (Shulman, 1987). Technology Knowledge (TK) encompasses knowledge about various technologies such as computers, the Internet, and software applications (Koehler & Mishra, 2008, as cited in Öz, 2015). According to Jamieson-Proctor et al. (2010), TE programs should provide prospective teachers with TK to enable them to integrate technology into teaching. In 2006, Mishra & Koehler built on Shulman’s theory of PCK and introduced the concept of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) to describe the integration of technology into teaching (Schmidt et al., 2009).

This study aims to explore the perceived effectiveness of TE curricula in American and French-patterned universities in Lebanon as described by graduate teachers from both systems. Other aims are to describe the content of TE curricula, to examine the knowledge bases acquired, to identify similarities and differences in programs and challenges, and to propose reforms to improve quality of curricula.

The research questions are:

1. What is the attitude of schoolteachers who have graduated from American and French-patterned universities in Lebanon about the balance between theoretical and practical courses in their TE curricula?

2. How do schoolteachers from both systems evaluate the duration and quality of their practicum experience?

3. Which knowledge bases from Shulman’s theory are acquired by prospective teachers in both systems?

4. What reforms to TE curricula do schoolteachers from both systems suggest?

This study will adopt the qualitative approach since it aims to identify the perception of schoolteachers about TE curricula. Qualitative research attempts to understand the meaning individuals construct about their experiences (Merriam & Grenier, 2019) and results in data about the experiences and perspectives of participants (Wray & Barrett, 2022). Through interview questions and the resulting discussions, researchers can gain an understanding of the experiences of participants (Husband, 2020). This study will follow the interpretive design, in which the research questions relate to a particular setting and time (Schwartz-Shea & Yanow, 2013), and the methods of data collection are interviews, observations, and documents (Merriam & Grenier, 2019). Researchers should select participants who are likely to have had the experiences that the questions are asking about (Magnusson & Marecek, 2015). Therefore, I will conduct semi-structured interviews with schoolteachers who have graduated from American and French-patterned universities in Lebanon. These will be teachers who have obtained their teaching degrees within the past three years. I will interview ten graduates from each model from six universities selected for this study, making the total number of my participants twenty. To reach out to participants, I will post advertisements in social media groups of Lebanese teachers. Once I get participants, I will use chain referral, which involves researchers asking participants to suggest names of others who could be potential participants (Creswell & Guetterman, 2021). I will also use targeted nominations, which entails researchers asking people who are not part of the study to nominate suitable participants (Magnusson & Marecek, 2015). I will ask university instructors to suggest names of TE graduates. The process of reaching concepts, themes, and categories from the gathered data is inductive (Merriam & Grenier, 2019). My data will be analyzed using the inductive content analysis method in two stages: in the first stage, the content of the recorded interviews will be analyzed using the transcriptions, and data pertinent to my research questions will be selected. In the second stage, analysis will be performed following the thematic analysis coding technique, and the recurring themes that are generated will form the main categories that will be presented in the results and elaborated on in the discussion to answer the research questions.

To identify expected results, it is essential to conduct a review of literature. The curricula in Lebanese universities, both American and French models, stress mainly on theoretical courses, with little emphasis given to practical courses (Freiha, 1997; Farah-Sarkis, 1997, as cited in BouJaoude, 2000; Ghaith, 2012). Moreover, in TE programs, practical field work comprises less than 25% of the whole program (Farah-Sarkis, 1997, as cited in El-Mouhayar & BouJaoude, 2012). In private universities that follow the American system, students do practice teaching for six months, whereas in universities that follow the French system, students do practice teaching for a minimum of one year (Naccache, 2021). According to El-Mouhayar & BouJaoude (2012), TE programs in Lebanon do not provide prospective teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to cater for the needs of all kinds of students in their classrooms. However, according to Ghaith (2012), in Lebanon, TE programs highlight students’ acquisition of knowledge and skills of teaching, as well as content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. In this study, by conducting interviews with participants who have graduated from universities in Lebanon and are teaching, I will examine the attitudes and perspectives of the teachers regarding the practical courses in their TE programs. This way, I will obtain evidence concurring with or contradicting previous research on Lebanese university TE programs. The expected results would be that teachers find the practicum experience and the practical courses insufficient, and they would prefer if they had acquired more practical knowledge and skills during their years of study.

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