Adaptability and problem solving as survival skills

Abstract

This study investigates student teachers' adaptability and problem-solving abilities during their practice teaching in a school-university partnership. The study explores how student teachers tried to adapt to the new school environments and how they overcame the obstacles they encountered. This study applied a mixed-methods design. In the quantitative part, 50 student teachers participated, and four student teachers volunteered for interviews. The results showed that student teachers used their adaptability and problem-solving skills to win stressful situations, including difficulties in teaching and learning and communication with school teachers. In addition to that, student teachers also increased their self-confidence and learned to build professional identity.

Keywords

• adaptability
• problem solving
• school-university partnership
• initial teacher education