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Obstacles to student teacher reflection: The role of prior school experience as a barrier to teacher development
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of student teachers' prior school experiences on their learning to teach. Specifically, the two goals of the study were: (a) to describe student teachers' prior school experiences and, (b) to provide an intervention in the form of an opportunity to reflect on those experiences. The participants were social studies student teachers who planned to teach in the following semester. Six trainees were interviewed individually about their prior school experiences and the connections they saw with their role as a trainee. A support group was established in which the participants shared their experiences and in which specific topics were explored in greater depth. Finally, at the end of the support group meetings, the student teachers again were interviewed individually. Data were examined for indications of the influence of prior school experiences (a) on student teachers' beliefs about teaching, learning and education, and (b) on student teachers' beliefs about self worth and abilities. Within the latter category, the influence of schooling on the formation of trainees' gender identities was examined. The data provided strong support for the influence of prior school experience both on trainees' beliefs about teaching and on their beliefs about self worth. Oppression theory, including both gender relationships and the dominant/subordinate power relationship of teacher to student, was provided as a framework through which the participants could re-evaluate their school experiences. Reflecting on their earlier school experiences encouraged participants to be more conscious of the negative ways in which their development had been limited by their schooling. Post intervention interviews showed greater awareness and concern about the need to treat their own students in ways that would be fully respectful of students' identities and abilities.
Subject Area
Teacher education|Social studies education|Educational sociology
Recommended Citation
Smith, Robert William, "Obstacles to student teacher reflection: The role of prior school experience as a barrier to teacher development" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9132916.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9132916