Sharing initial teacher education between school and university: participants' perceptions of their roles and learning

Abstract

This paper considers how student teachers, mentor teachers and university tutors who participate in collaborative settings for joint reflection on practical teaching situations during students' practicum perceive their roles and opportunities for learning in these settings. We are also interested in how the participants experience this kind of collaboration between schools and university in the context of initial teacher education. To this end, we created and analysed three settings for joint reflection among mentor teachers, university tutors and students. Twenty-seven students teachers in three schools as part of their Primary Education degree took part, along with their respective mentor teachers and university tutors. All the discussion sessions were videotaped and the participants were interviewed in-depth about their experience. Content analysis of the resulting material enabled us to describe the dynamics of interaction in each setting, the perceived role of mentor teachers and university tutors, and the participants' perceptions regarding the learning achieved. We conclude that, for the participants, the creation of these settings for joint reflection enabled mutual learning and closer collaboration between schools and university, bringing greater coherence to practicum.