Abstract:

This current study aimed at investigating the efficacy of primary student teachers’ practicum courses on teaching Social education aspects. To Achieve the aim of the study, I addressed these questions:
- What kinds of learning activities that student teachers were involved in throughout their field-based experience?
- How was the teaching practice impacting the student teachers' practical theories about teaching?
- What did help them learn?
- What did prevent their learning when they teach?

Methods:
A non-probability sampling method, purposive sampling, was used. The purpose of this sampling procedure was to choose “information-rich key informants” who were likely to be knowledgeable and informative about the phenomena being investigated. Therefore, my selection of student teachers was largely based on their willingness and interest to talk, discuss, and reflect on their own learning and teaching experiences. The study sample consisted of Twenty-Two social studies undergraduate student teachers. The entire sample was female (N=22). The student teachers taught in classrooms which represented primary and secondary stages.

Data collection:
To answer the above questions, I needed to 'get inside the student teachers' heads'. During and at the end of teaching practice, I collected data for the present study. The data were drawn from journals kept by the students throughout teaching practice; classroom observation; and semi-structured interviews with student teachers. These tools were found a particularly rich data sources.

Data analysis:
I adopted the grounded theory method (Strauss & Corbin 1990, and Haig 1995). In the present study, I used this inductive approach to analysis, identifying the most important categories perceived in the data by coding and grouping concepts (Burton, 2000).

Conclusions:
Finally, looking carefully and critically at these results enabled me to study the complex task of learning to teach through the experiences of the participants. My intention was to find out how teaching practice impacts student teachers' learning to teach social studies. The findings gave me a good understanding of the consistent nature of teaching practice. These findings underlined how teaching practice is a highly influential and valued experience.

Keywords:

Practicum Courses, Social Education, Primary Student Teacher’s, Teaching Practices, Qualitative Study.