Abstract:

With the Bologna process, the practicum in initial teacher education has gained increasing visibility, and is nowadays seen by European higher education policies and higher educational institutions as one of the central axes of teacher education curricula. The practicum has been studied mainly in terms of its organization and supervision processes, with few studies that effectively focus on what it represents for the various actors involved as well as on their contributions to the professional development of pre-service teachers. This study is part of a research project that aims to understand the role of the practicum for preschool and 1st and 2nd cycle of basic education teachers.

The objectives of the study are:
(i) to identify the role of the practicum for the learning and professional development of early childhood teachers;
(ii) to identify the difficulties experienced by the students in the practicum;
(ii) to identify and characterize the difficulties and critical factors experienced by students, institutional supervisors and cooperating advisors at practicum.

The methodology used is qualitative and quantitative and the data were collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. Participants are institutional supervisors from three Portuguese higher education institutions and cooperating early childhood teachers who collaborate with these institutions in the practical training of students. Data collection was carried out with the express consent of the participants, ensuring their anonymity as well as the anonymity of the training institutions. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis and quantitative data was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS 22. The results confirm the centrality of the practicum for the professional development of early childhood teachers and the construction of professional knowledge emerges as one of the main contributions of the practicum. The data also shows that positive and collaborative relationships between higher education institutions and practicum contexts are critical to student’s success. The study reveals several difficulties experienced by students at practicum, namely: the inexorable relationship between theory and practice; the development of reflection and research skills; the management of the group of children. The collaborative relationships between the contexts of the practicum and the higher education institutions emerge as a critical factor for the learning and professional development of future early childhood teachers.

Keywords:

Practicum, initial teacher education, early childhood teachers, professional development.