TEACHING PRACTICE EXPERIENCE (TPE): A FEEDBACK FROM PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS OF NNAMDI AZIKIWE UNIVERSITY, AWKA.

Abstract

The hallmark of every teacher training education is to produce teachers who are highly qualified and can facilitate positive learning outcome. These attributes are inculcated in pre-service teachers through teaching practice, hence, teaching practice requires critical review to ensure that aspiring teachers are equipped with desired skills, attitude and norms they will need to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively in the classrooms. This research therefore evaluated the teaching practice experience from pre-service teachers using student teachers of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka as case study. These was achieved by using a structured questionnaire which was guided by sets of research questions and analyzed using arithmetic mean in which the acceptance score is 2.5 and above. The findings revealed that the majority of the pre service teachers agreed to be prepared to accept and tackle teaching practice exercise, they equally obliged to be sourcing support from the subject teachers and their supervisors during the TPE, the study further enumerates the challenges pre-service teachers encounter during TPE, the challenges include; need for proper orientation before teaching practice, large classroom, heavy workload, remuneration by the government, among others. The results also revealed that teaching practice experience can be improved by reducing the workload of pre service teachers, the ability of intending teachers to manage large classes, use of adequate instructional materials, mentorship, proper management and effective lesson preparation. It is therefore imperative to consider and implement the results of this study for positive and improved teaching practice experience.