DEVELOPING A MODEL FOR TEACHER CLINICAL EXPERIENCE AND INDUCTION FOR PREPARING QUALITY TEACHERS FOR THE FUTURE

Clinical experience has been highlighted as one of the most important components of teacher education programs. Teachers’ clinical experience during the years of pre-service training is viewed as an important factor in producing quality beginning teachers. The study outlines the seven provisional guiding principles (PGPs) that shape the curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, leadership qualities and clinical experiences. The main objective of this study is to develop a Model for Teacher Clinical Experience and Induction, which while having the generic characteristics of beginning teacher development, is also sensitive to the socio-cultural aspects of Malaysian teachers. The study involves four phases. The first phase involved doing a critical and comparative analysis of selected models and programs pertaining to clinical experience and teacher induction. The second phase involved designing a Model for Clinical Experience and Teacher Induction based on UPSI’s curriculum framework and Teacher Education Model. In phase 3, the model was piloted, validated and refined. In phase 4, the model was implemented and monitored with the collaboration and partnership with stakeholders. The study employs both quantitative and qualitative methods through the use of critical review, comparative analysis, observations, surveys, interviews, discussions with expert teachers, benchmarking, panel discussions and expert validation. The data has been gathered for almost five years. The findings discusses the critical reviews and document analysis of clinical experience at teacher education institutions abroad and the analysis of data of collected from public universities, private universities and the Institute of Teacher Education in Malaysia. Five provisional guiding principles (PGPs) are develop based on five elements which are the application of subject-matter and pedagogical content knowledge in actual school context, application of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in teaching, the use of critical reflection for pedagogic reasoning of the teaching and learning process. The high impact practices framework of teacher clinical experience, structured critical reflection, teaching practice mentoring, teaching practice supervision, teaching practice assessment and beginning teacher induction structure for change are proposed.