CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Teaching is a profession that requires numerous skills and traits for specific lessons to be effective. Educational psychologists and educationalists (Woolfolk, 2003; Santrock, 1996) have highlighted the importance of teachers possessing sound content knowledge, pedagogical know-how (Schulman, 1986), the right personality-occupational match (Holland, 2002) and other competences including communication proficiency, positive intra and interpersonal relationships, good management skills, and many more.  These are skills that novice teachers cannot develop overnight.

For beginning teachers, the years spent in teacher training college or university do not quite help develop them to become instantaneous good teachers. Over the years of training, they are gradually being exposed to the concepts and theories related to teaching which include pedagogical skills, content knowledge, philosophies of education, curriculum, assessment, and instruction. Often it is only in their final year in college would they be required to undergo their teaching practice – a short stint of perhaps over a few weeks or months depending on the differing university requirements – where they would be placed in actual school settings to experience first-hand how theories learnt are put into practice.

It is often the case that these novice or beginner teachers encounter numerous challenges once they enter school to become “real” teachers. Studies in the past have highlighted the nature of difficulties teachers encounter when they first start teaching.  The challenges include working inside classroom and working with others. The recent decade had seen greater challenges for not only beginner or novice teachers but also for the experienced ones, largely due to demographic variations, shift in culture and values, as well as technological advancements. It is also possible that teacher educators are finding it equally challenging to identify and address new aspects deemed crucial to adequately prepare teachers to teach the younger generations.

1.2 Background of study

Faculty of Education in UiTM offers educational programs at different levels for example matriculation, degree, postgraduate (masters and PhD). According to Buku Panduan Ijazah Sarjana Muda Fakulti Pendidikan, all the third year and fourth year students of Faculty of Education need and compulsory to take the course of teaching practice in order to graduate. The students of Faculty of Education required going to the specific school chosen by Faculty of Education because of requirement to undergo teaching practice for about twelve weeks. As we know, the main purpose of this course, teaching practice is to enable all trainee teachers practicing the theories and content knowledge that have been exposed to them for that entire semester according to everybody’s program. Moreover, this helps the trainee teachers to gain any other skills and knowledge that might be not is taught in the course that has to go through in the real world of teaching. This study is focusing about teacher preparation at degree level. Along this program, trainee teachers who are taking this program needed to take courses offered during the whole semesters before they are required to go for their teaching practice or practicum. The six semesters of the programs, the courses that they should to take are microteaching, personal and professional development, curriculum instruction, psychology, creative curriculum and many more. These all courses are required to develop the skills and knowledge to become a teacher.

Faculty of Education offers this teacher education program to produce qualities teacher for future education. Basically, this program has seven courses to offer for students’ of Faculty of Education. These are Undergraduate programs are Bachelor Education (HONS) of TESL, Arts & Design, Science (Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry) and Physical & Health Education. Therefore, the trainees will teach subjects that they are taking according this program when their teaching practices later.

1.3 Statement of the research problem

For today’s education, a lot of trends and changes took place in the field of education. There is one way or another have to relook back of teacher education programs that should be provided. There is need to re-evaluate of trainee teachers training program to see the readiness of them to meet with currently demands. This study was carried out because of the rising of issues of education trainee teachers of worldwide. According to the National Quality Council on Teacher Quality (2013) trainee teachers who are newly graduated are not prepared for the challenges and problems encountered in the schools. In Vietnam, Belgian Development Agency (2010) claims that traditional teaching practices still commonly used in the classroom which is did not encourage any advancement student’s participation in the class and this issue urge for changes teacher training curriculum. Therefore, this study attempts to know the readiness of trainee teachers from general readiness, teaching-related abilities to how they counter to the problems and challenges faced in this current education system in Malaysia

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1.4 Research Objectives

Given the problems highlighted in the previous section, this research was carried out with the following objectives in mind:

1.      To find out trainee teacher’s general readiness to teach prior to practicum.

2.      To investigate trainee teacher’s teaching skills abilities during practicum.

3.      To identify the challenges that trainee teachers encounter during their teaching practice.

4.      To investigate the adequacy of needs being addressed prior to the trainee teachers undergoing their teaching practice.

1.5 Research questions

1.      What are trainee teacher’s general readiness’s to teach prior to practicum?

2.      What are trainee teacher’s teaching skills abilities during practicum?

3.      What are the challenges that trainee teachers encounter during their teaching practice?

4.   What are the adequacies of needs being addressed prior to the trainee teachers undergoing their teaching practice?

1.6 Significance of study

The findings of the study will be of benefit to the following parties: the pre-service teachers, teacher educators at the faculty of Education, and other stakeholders.

1.6.1    Pre-service teachers

The findings will inform the pre-service teacher aspects of teaching which they are not quite ready and thus require further enhancement prior to their posting upon graduation.  This study helps in informing and acknowledging on how well the trainee teachers have been prepared content-wise as well as pedagogically and preparedness to face problems and challenges for today’s classroom scenario.

1.6.2    Teacher educators at the Faculty of Education

The findings of the research are very beneficial and important to Faculty of Education to help in order of improvement the readiness and challenges of trainee teachers to undergo teaching practice. First of all, this research wanted to measure level of readiness trainee teachers before them teaching practice. It will enable faculty of education to prepare any additional way to help them before they start the practicum. This is very important to the faculty in preparing well of any components for trainee teachers before their teaching practice.

In order for the trainee teachers preparation before they undergo teaching practice, this finding wanted to help the faculty of Education to investigate retrospective evaluation on general readiness before teaching practice. The kind of readiness that measured like on how is the trainee teachers working with others. Trainee teachers will be experienced on working with the real teachers and staffs in the school. This part is important too to be prepared as their psychological readiness. This is because we know that sometimes when the trainee teachers having difficulties to cope with other people then they will become demotivated and this will be affected their teaching effectiveness.

Besides of subject knowledge matter, things like managing self in term of cope with problem and pressure in working as a teacher need to be aware of. Like in the school as we know things that we never expected may become happen. For example, crisis or trouble may be happened among students every day. So as the teacher, the trainees must always confidently ready to cope and handle it. In addition, sometimes there are too many task aside of teaching and learning process that need to be completed. Thus, as a human we cannot avoid with any individual or privacy problems too. Then this is can be madness and massive pressure. The trainees must having self-control and be professional. To become like this, they need to be taught differently.

Other than that, trainee teachers need to have clear mind on objectives and responsibilities towards teaching skill related as a teacher. Many of trainee teachers are not ready to prepare on what kind of pedagogical they need to apply in the classroom. Sometimes they don’t even know all those things. Thus, this is also very crucial to Faculty of Education need to make some changes of the subject that are currently offered before trainees teachers undergoing teaching practice. This will help Faculty of Education to determine the most important subjects need to be added before their teaching practice. Among those a lot of courses that they need to learn before graduating in this program, it’s important of Faculty of Education to address certain courses that will help them before they are going to teaching practice.

Furthermore, findings of the research also could make changes to the current curriculum of this program in university. This is making it easier for lecturers to have better goal in highlighting what is the matter most. Besides that, this can also help the lecturers to appoint different of responsibilities of teacher could have in the current curriculum. This exposure important to trainees understanding better their subject knowledge and also have better way to teach their subject area to teach diverse learners especially for 21st century learners.

Moreover with all the exposure hoped to get the lecturers to come up with different method of teaching and learning in some courses. Various strategies and way of teaching and learning could help to encourage the trainee teachers to have better commitment in teaching practicum. When the trainees have mastered all the skills and knowledge they will become more confident to teach and carry out a duty as a teacher.

In brief, to know the level of readiness in aspects of their general readiness on mentally and physically can help the Faculty of Education to improve the subject area. Moreover, the findings that also help the faculty to identify on certain course that need improvement or need to introduce another different courses. This is automatically enable all trainee teachers to have better subject knowledge and subject competence to perform their teaching practice successfully in the real teaching and learning process. All of this knowledge surely helps the trainee teachers to become a good teacher in future.

1.7 The Limitations of study

Time limitation is the main aspect that exposure to have a limit. The instruments need to distribute and discovered by the end of teaching practice time of trainee teachers. Thus, the difficulties to gather everyone right after seems not easy. The instrument had been quickly distributed in a short time where the respondents might not have enough time to answer it precisely. Besides that by only surveying online in Google form through application such as What Sapp on mobile phone it can’t ensure that all the options that are needed to be answered by the respondents can be accessed as not all mobile phone are users friendly. On another side also, we can’t make sure about the feedbacks are getting responding or not. Thus, this all disadvantages would make this study cannot get the positive results.

1.8 Scope of study

This study findings need to find out the readiness and challenges of trainee teachers in teaching practice. The respondents gathered from all part 7 and part 8 of all programs in Faculty of Education who just currently undergo their teaching practice in the school. This is easier as they still have freshly mind to reflect back on everything they had those times. The questionnaires were distributed in a lecture hall of Faculty of Education Universiti Teknologi Mara Puncak Alam.

1.9 Terms of study

1.9.1 Trainee Teacher

Trainee defined as a person who is learning and practicing the skills of a particular job. The term of trainee teacher in this study refers to students who enrolled education program allocated in Faculty of Education. Usually trainee teachers will be offered different courses every semester. Teaching practice is one of compulsory course trainees need to take during their final year. Joshi & Chugh (2009) highlighted teachers need to be able comprehend with knowledge from general to complex such as communication skills as the basic knowledge to problem-solving skills. 

1.9.3 Teacher Readiness

“Readiness can be defined as a principle of learning where the eagerness and single mindedness of a person toward learning affect the outcome of the learning experience” (17Ju) The readiness context in this research is to find out about general readiness and teaching skill related readiness before teaching practice. General readiness means that the research wanted to know the level of readiness in aspect of interaction skill that is much needed in working with others like dealing with another teachers and when teaching students itself. Besides that, level of self-readiness also measured from how trainees ready to manage themselves to cope with problems and pressure. Leadership ability also is including in general readiness of trainees before teaching practice. These all general readiness is very important and crucial for them to get ready before teaching in real world of teaching. 

Next is, the study needs to find level of readiness trainees in their teaching skill-related before teaching practice and during teaching practice in school. Teaching skill-related readiness is looking in elements of content, teaching strategies (pedagogy), implementation and assessment and practical-based.  As according to Milne (1999) highlighted a teacher should really have a deep understanding about the subject knowledge in order to implement several of teaching strategies. Thus, we can see it is correlated between element of content subject and teaching strategies.

Infodev (2001) defined that every learner must be ready with every things and new things that always implemented in teaching and learning process for example technology. Every aspect of teaching can be different from day a day according to what the changes were occurred. McConnel International (200) stated that each learning group must be catered with specific needs thus that important of readiness assessment in order to give solution and provider of information.

1.9.3 Challenges

Challenges can be defined as the situation faced with something that needs great effort mentally and physically to be done (cambridge glossary). In this study, we wanted to find out challenges of trainee teachers encountered during teaching practice. The challenges in working inside classroom and working with others are the aspect of the challenges that trainee teachers need to encounter. This is because trainees as undergraduate students with lack of knowledge and experiences might be encountered with different kind of challenges in the school. Thus we should know how and what kind of challenges that they were going through practicum session. Then, Hansford et al (2003) stated that mentoring is a must working process elements in teaching. This statement meaning is mentoring gives positives outcomes on trainees as a mentee to encounter with the challenges in working.

1.9.4 Teaching practice

“Teaching practice meaning is a temporary period of teaching in a school undertaken under supervision by a person who is training to become a teacher” (dictionary online) For this study, teaching practice is a course that is offered to all Faculty of Education students in Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia. Every students will be guided under one supervisor that is enabled the trainees to practice their teaching skills. The trainees undergo about three months of time duration for the teaching practice in a school. Within this period in the school, trainees can be able to gain knowledge, experience and all skills in a real classroom context. This course given as one of compulsory subject need to be taken before teaching practice would eventually help to enhance subject competence and subject knowledge. The benefit of this course is can help trainees to perform the teaching practice efficiently and effectively.