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ABSTRACT
The study explored in-service teachers’ perspectives of the impact of their previous student teaching practice on their teaching skills and professional growth. Drawing on the constructs of the social cognitive theory, the study employed a qualitative retrospective approach to interpreting in-service teachers’ perspectives of the effect of previous teaching practice experiences using semi-structured interviews as a tool for data collection. A number of 103 in-service teachers who completed their teacher education in different education preparation providers in Oman were interviewed. A thematic analysis approach was employed for data analysis. ATLAS-ti9 was used to analyse the interview data by coding the participants’ reflective thoughts and responses on the impact of their previous teaching practice on their current teaching performance. Three main themes emerged as a result of the analysis. Our findings indicate overall teachers’ positive reflection on the impact of student teaching practice, which provided them with sufficient training in planning classroom instruction. Furthermore, teachers reported dissatisfaction with the opportunities student teaching practice offered them about work ethics and classroom management, due to limited resources, concentration on theoretical content, and lack of procedural practical guidance. Implications for teacher education programmes in Oman are discussed within the scope of the study findings.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Noor Al-Najjar
Noor Al-Najar is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Sultan Qaboos University and the head of the Field Expertise and Field Training Unit. Supervising many master’s and doctoral theses, the most important research interests being the use of modern methods of teaching and curriculum design, value education, identity and citizenship.
Muna Yousuf Al Bulushi
Muna Yousuf Al Bulushi is currently a 3rd year PhD candidate in English Language Teaching at Sultan Qaboos University and a part-time field training college supervisor. She holds her MA in Curriculum and Teaching Methods of English Language. She works in the Ministry of Education in the Quality Department. Her main areas of interest are the study of teachers’ competencies, field training practices, spelling strategies, and teacher education. She worked as a research assistant in several research projects with Sultan Qaboos University, Finland University, and Columbia University.
Fawzia Aziz Al Seyabi
Fawzia Aziz Al Seyabi is an Associate Professor of English Language Teaching (ELT) at Sultan Qaboos University’s College of Education. Presently, she serves as the assistant dean of training and community service within the college. Her areas of research focus on curriculum design and development, teacher preparation, teaching methods, the role of culture in ELT, as well as exploring values and dispositions in teacher preparation programmes.
Sulaiman M. Al-Balushi
Sulaiman M. Al-Balushi is professor of science education and the Quality Assurance Director at Sultan Qaboos University. He is recipient of the Royal Order of Commendation (Research Field), Oman (2024). Served as Dean of the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman (2014-2020). He has received different national and international awards. His research interests focus on STEM education, integrating emerging technologies in education, teacher preparation and training, and learners’ cognitive abilities in science.
Aisha S. Al-Harthi
Aisha Salim Ali Al-Harthi is a professor and the head of the Education Foundations and Administration department at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. Her research spans distance education, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), open micro-credentials, cultural considerations, learner self-regulation, vocational secondary education, and entrepreneurship education. She contributes to distance education and educational leadership journals, actively leading and engaging in numerous funded research projects.
Mahmoud Mohamed Emam
Mahmoud Mohamed Emam is currently a professor and Head of Psychology department at Sultan Qaboos University. He holds a PhD from the University of Manchester. He is a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship in school psychology. He obtained the Erasmus Mundus scholarship. He serves on the editorial board of a number of journals published by Taylor and Francis, Sage Publication, Emerald and Wiley.