The practicum in teacher education in the Maldives : current practices, issues and future directions

Abstract

The teaching practicum is considered as a crucial core component of a teacher education program that has a significant impact on the quality of graduate teachers. Stakeholders regard the practicum as an invaluable component of pre-service teacher education. However, the recent literature review demonstrates that the value of the practicum is undermined by a range of problems. In short, stakeholders encounter several issues and challenges in their efforts to implement a successful practicum experience for the student teachers (STs) due to the complex and multifaceted nature of the practicum. This empirical exploratory study investigated the stakeholder perceptions regarding the current practices of the practicum in the Maldives to better identify the key issues, challenges and new possibilities; and to provide research-based evidence for policy and practices pertaining to the practicum in the Maldivian context. The stakeholders participated in the study include: 317 STs, 205 cooperating teachers (CTs), two supervising lecturers (SLs), ten school-based coordinators (SBCs) and three institutional-based coordinators (IBCs) who played the dual role of both IBCs and SLs. Having employed a mixed-method triangulation design and purposive selection of the participants, the study was conducted in four phases. In the first three phases, survey questionnaire for STs (STQ) and CTs (CTQ) were administered in 21 selected placement schools in four different zones (of six zones) across the country. In addition, observational data were also collected from 28 STs from early childhood education (ECE), primary and secondary during these phases. In the fourth phase, a total of 38 semi-structured interviews (face-to-face and telephone) were conducted with the selected stakeholders (12STs, 11CTs, 10SBCs, 3IBCs and 2SLs). Drawing upon data from these multiple sources and from multiple stakeholders (STs, CTs, SLs, SBCs, and IBCs), the findings of the study showed that there were several issues and challenges. Among those the most significant include: content issues that lead to a multitude of classroom management problems for STs, inadequate support from the stakeholders for STs, insufficient training for the stakeholders (in particular CTs) to undertake their essential roles; lack of coordination and cooperation among the key players, especially between teacher education institutions (TEIs) and placement schools; absence of national level policies on the practicum, and the deficiencies in the existing practicum structures, or models to address current issues.To address these perceived problems, that may undermine the quality of the practicum, and ultimately the quality of the graduate teachers, the study makes specific recommendations, in light of its empirical evidence and with reference to the existing literature. The recommendations were specifically related to the four prominent stakeholder (policy makers, TEIs, placement schools and future researchers) groups who could play a significant role in making the practicum an educative event for all involved. The study recommends that the relevant policy makers establish governing bodies (e.g., national council for teacher education/national teacher certification department at the Ministry of Education, MoE), formulate a national framework for teacher education together with a framework, or a guideline for the practicum. Similarly, the outcomes of the study suggest that the TEIs establish practicum departments, develop pre-practicum programs for STs, professional development programs for CTs, SLs and SBCs. In addition, it is recommended that TEIs revise the current practicum models and make greater use of technology-enhanced practicum possibilities (especially in such a geographically dispersed country). Correspondingly, it is suggested that the placement schools establish formal units that take the responsibility for working with TEIs in a more collaborative fashion to prepare CTs and SBCs, and move towards forming a ‘community of practice’ or a platform for the stakeholders to enhance their professional development.