Students' perception, expectations and practice of field placement and its impact on teaching competences

Author(s):

Andreja Istenic Starcic(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2011

Network:

27. Didactics - Learning and Teaching

Format:

Paper

Session Information

27 SES 07 B, Perspectives on Teacher Education

Paper Session

Time:

2011-09-14

16:45-18:15

Room:

KL 24/222,1 FL., 64

Chair:

Meinert Arnd Meyer

Contribution

Field Placement is an integral part of initial teacher education. Its basic function is to link theory and practice when learning in an authentic school or preschool environment. In the introductory part, the state of the art review presents the main challenges in developing professional experiences of work-integrated learning in teacher education. In 2010-11, a survey was conducted among faculty of education students. A ninety two students participated in the last year of their study. The aim of the survey was to identify their experiences in field placement: how did work-integrated learning foster the development of their professional competences, how was work-integrated learning and mentoring organised, which teaching and learning methods were used, what was the role of the mentor, how did field experiences influence the conceptions students hold about the profession they are being educated for and which was the potential impact on career development. Special focus was on the generic and subject-specific competences that students applied and developed within transitional learning experience. Among general didactics competences the focus was on lesson planning, classroom management, teaching and learning methods, assessment, diversity and inclusive education. Special didactics competences were investigated within science, humanities, language and mathematics.

Field placement and the challenges of implementing working integrated learning and mentoring was investigated. Field placement establishes conditions for learning and assessment in authentic contexts. Predominantly such assessment is possible in the workplace (Vleuten, Schuwirth, Scheele & Driessen 2010). Eraut (1990) identifies six types of knowledge developed during work placement: situational knowledge, knowledge of people, knowledge of practice, conceptual knowledge, process knowledge and control knowledge. Schön (2002) highlights the tacit knowledge which is implicit and learnt through reflection of experiences in real life situations providing basis for professional development.

In transitional learning mentoring as workplace learning strategy is used. Within this study are investigated the organisation mode of mentoring in students’ field placement and how students evaluate mentor roles. Workplace mentoring has been conceptualised as providing career and psychological support. Hawkins and Shohet (1989) have identified the three main mentoring objectives, to be educative, supportive, and managerial. According to Kram (1983), mentoring include: career support when focusing on career advancement, psychosocial support when focusing on competences and work-role effectiveness, and role model when focusing on attitudes, values, and behaviours.

The organisational structure within classroom teacher study programme and preschool teacher program of field placement has 9 weeks totally. Students are required to write diary based on reflections, design a portfolio and deliver final report supported by portfolio. Students are required to find the school in their home environments and make all the necessary arrangements. Mentor role is shared by mentor at the faculty and mentor in work environment.

Research questions:

- To what extent were varieties of competences developed and applied during field placement?

- Did the field placement influence the conceptions students hold about profession?

- Had the field placement experience influenced students' career plans?

- Which learning methods do students use in work integrated learning?

- What was the role of the mentor?

- How did students score overall experiences and what were the perceived benefits and disadvantages of the field placement?

Method

The paper based questionnaire was used. An analysis of variance was performed (One way ANOVA) to test how comparative students’ scores from the two study programmes differ. The hypothesis tested was: The significant difference exists between students’ scores of the two programmes. The Levene test of homogeneity of variances was applied (Levene, 1960). The statistical analysis was performed by SPSS. The standardised alpha coefficient of the survey was was measured the questions concerning competences, conceptions, career planning, learning methods, mentor role, overall experiences and perceived benefits and disadvantages and indicated the acceptable reliability of the survey.

Expected Outcomes

The findings show that students perceived field placement as having important overall impact on their knowledge and competences. Findings show significant difference between groups regarding whether students had found work placement overall impact on their knowledge and competences. Findings are presented within six main topics according to the research questions: competences, conceptions of profession, impact of the field placement on career planning, learning methods used in work based learning and mentoring roles. Findings are presented for all students and with reference to the two study programs under investigation. Regarding competences, students were asked to score how much had they developed and applied the competences listed on the questionnaire. How the transitional learning experiences had impacted on students’ conceptions of the professions they are being educated for and whether they influenced them in familiarising them with different professional roles in the society and whether they have had sufficient prior conceptions. Results of the study are basis for renewal of Bologna study programs and implementation of new frameworks for field placement.

References

Eraut, M. (1990). Identifying the knowledge which underpins performance. In Black, H. & Wolf K. (Eds.), Knowledge and competence: current issues in training and education (pp. 22–29). London: Career and Occupational Information Centre, HMSO. Hawkins, P. & Shohet, R. (1989). Supervision in the Helping Professions. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Istenic Starcic, A. & Vonta, T. (2010). On-the-job-mentoring – evaluation of the impact of participation in mentoring teams and e-portfolio on the development of generic competences. Vzgoja in izobrazevanje, 16(6), 38-43. Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the mentoring relationship. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 608-625. Levene, H. (1960). Robust tests for equality of variances. In Contributions to Probability and Statistics: Essays in Honor of Harold Hotelling. In: Olkin, I., Ghurye, S. G. , Hoeffding, W., Madow, W. G. & Mann, H. B. (eds.) (pp. 278-292). Menlo Park, CA: Stanford University Press. Shön, D. (2002). From Technical Rationality to reflection-in-action. In: Harrison, R., Reeve, F., Hanson, A, Clarke, J. (eds.) Supporting lifelong learning Volume 1. Perspectives on Learning. (pp. 40-61). London: Routledge. Vleuten, C. P.M., Schuwirth, L.W.T., Scheele, F. & Driessen, E.W. (2010). The assessment of professional competence: building blocks for theory development. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology 24, 703–719.

Author Information

Andreja Istenic Starcic (presenting / submitting)

University of Primorska

Faculty of Education

Koper

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