Research on pedagogical practice in initial teacher education for primary and pre-school teachers: a systematic literature review

Abstract

The initial training of future teachers in pre-primary and primary education is of major importance for the quality of education of pre-school and early school-age children. It involves preparing students, for a teaching career and involves both theoretical training and practical introduction to teaching. The practical part of training is done usually in partnership of university institutions, with the schools of practice. Concerns about the different aspects of practice are visible in studies looking at how the practice programs are conceptualised, run, organised, and evaluated, from the perspectives of people involved: student, mentor, and university coordinator. Trying to understand how practicum is done within the frame of interinstitutional collaboration and shared responsibility, drawing on the theory of the third space, a systematic literature review was conducted to answer: How is the pedagogical practice of future primary and pre-school teachers researched from the perspective of the coordinator-student-mentor triad? 96 studies were selected, based on criteria related to issue researched, methodology used, categories of participants in the study, and results obtained. The analysis showed that most of the studies are qualitative, with relatively small numbers of subjects, most frequently students. The findings reflect the impact of the practice on each category of partners and the various facets of collaboration between those involved, as well as highlighting areas that the research did not fully address and require further investigation. The findings also highlight aspects to be considered for the further improvement of the teaching practice part of the initial teacher training programs.

Keywords

• initial teacher education
• practicum
• preschool and primary education
• systematic literature review