Participants’ perceptions of pre-service teachers’ experiences during school training placements (practicums) in Turkish and English policy contexts

This pilot study investigates how some pre-service teachers’ and their university supervisors and school-based teacher mentors - view pre-service teachers’ school-based training (practicums) in Turkey and England. In the liminal social spaces of practicums, pre-service teachers begin their transformation into serving teachers (Shields, 2003, 12–13) in particular policy and socio-cultural contexts. Practicums allow pre-service teachers to observe established teachers at work, prepare instructional materials adapted to the learning needs of particular students, teach groups of students, and begin to understand the complexities of working in schools. However, as their social knowledge of practice, power and culture in schools lacks sophistication (Pierce, 2007) this is challenging even with the help of school-based teacher mentors who are often reported as being crucial (Wilkins and Lall, 2010). School-based teacher mentors complement university-based tutors in helping pre-service teachers understand the practice of being a teacher in part by helping them to reflect on their experiences (Lucas, 1999 in Myles et al., 2006). Teacher educators need to understand how pre-service teachers experience the formal and informal processes of practicums to prepare them for that and how these can be ameliorated by the actions of their critical friends(Golby and Appleby, 1996).