Pre-service Teachers’ Teaching Competencies: The Experience of Practising Teaching in Secondary Schools and Teacher Colleges

• Main Author: Josta Lameck Nzilano
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sustainable Programs to Reduce Educational and Avocational Disadvantages (SPREAD) 2013-06-01
• Series: African Journal of Teacher Education
• Subjects: tanzania teacher education; pre-service teachers; practice teaching; university teacher education; teacher education; secondary education; teacher profession development; preparation for teaching; classroom management
• Online Access: https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/ajote/article/view/2030

The purpose of this study was to explore the competences of pre-service teachers from Tanzania’s University of Dar es Salaam during practice teaching in secondary schools and teacher education colleges. The following were the objectives of the study: first to examine the ways pre-service teachers prepared for classroom teaching, and second to assess the effectiveness of pre-service teachers in managing classroom teaching and learning activities. The study involved 30 pre-service teachers and 8 educational officers from secondary schools and teacher colleges. The instruments for data collection were a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, portfolio reviews, and classroom observations. Results revealed the limited competencies among pre-service teachers in classroom teaching. The study recommended reforms of the pre-service teachers’ professional development program, the improvement of the educational policies, and the cooperation between educational managers from schools, colleges, and the Ministry of Education for quality education.