Context, process and change: The status of prospective teachers' perceptions of teaching process

Abstract

Teacher candidates come to teacher education programs with beliefs shaped out of traditional contexts in their earlier lives. Those beliefs influence their new learning outcomes. It is therefore important for teacher education programs to identify the degree of perceptions that entry- and exit-level candidates hold. The purpose of this study is to identify and compare entry- and exit-level candidates' degree of perceptions about teaching process and to understand if their perceptions relate to their personal variables. This is a descriptive study. The data were gathered by 28-item Teaching Process Perception Scale developed by the researchers. Collected from 267 teacher candidates in a primary level teacher education program, the data were analyzed by using frequencies, percentages, t-test, and ANOVA. Comparing the perceptions of both groups, the results indicate a significant difference on behalf of the last year candidates, though the difference is small. The variables of gender, high school education, mother-father's education and mother-father's job do not significantly relate to the perceptions of the participants. The last-year female participants, however, scored significantly higher than their male counterparts. The results propose a need for practitioners to invite experiences that best challenge perceptions.