Efectos de las prácticas externas en el desarrollo de conciencia profesional del profesorado en formación inicial

Abstract

This doctoral thesis seeks to explore the effects of practicum experiences in the development of a professional consciousness through initial teacher education. This consciousness is created within specific areas that educational research explores through specific lines. It is necessary to investigate these areas in detail to know the effects that internships produce on preservice teachers as professionals. Thus, five research objectives are generated to be fulfilled by the modality of a thesis through a compendium of publications. It involves conducting five empirical studies to answer these previous objectives. Hereunder, different sections that compose the thesis are presented. In “Introduction” section, it is shown a mapping of three lines of research that are strongly influenced by internship experiences. These lines are perceptions generated by preservice teachers during their practicum, perceptions about tutoring or mentoring relationships created by university supervisors, and the role of technologies through internships. Firstly, in the first line, it is found perceptions of preservice teachers related to their perceived self-efficacy toward specific professional competencies, the training provided by cooperating teachers in the schools, and the development and growth as professionals that took place in the last couple of years. Secondly, it is explored the research line related to university supervisors’ perceptions of their functions at the University and the needs and demands of preservice teachers that they need to cover. Thirdly, it is explored the research line related to the treatment of technologies during the internship experiences as part of the initial teacher education. To continue, in “Objectives” section, five research objectives are presented to discuss all the variables presented through the previous research lines. These objectives are linked to the development of five manuscripts as the compendium of publications needed. Moreover, in this section, it is also shortly explained the methodological approach to address each objective. In “Findings” section, the main results obtained by conducting these five studies are explained. Regarding the perceptions of preservice teachers, three studies were conducted to answer the first three objectives of the Thesis. The first study explored the perceived self-efficacy of preservice teachers toward professional competencies in internship contexts. This study shows some self-efficacy sources identified by preservice teachers that influence their self-efficacy, the relationship between this perception and the satisfaction with the training experience, as well as the existence of differences in terms of perceived self-efficacy between women and men. The second study shows the perceptions of preservice teachers toward the treatment of social and transversal topics as part of their training through the practicum. Moreover, this work is related to the professional advice provided by cooperating teachers at the schools. The last study in the line of preservice teachers’ perceptions is focused on the professional development that happens during the internships. Findings present that the growth as a teacher depends on mentoring relationships, daily performance in the classroom, and the construction of the teacher identity. Findings related to the second research line about university supervisors perceptions are addressed. A fourth study presents the need for greater support from the university to help the university supervisor to accompany preservice teachers when they go to the school. From the university supervisor’s perspective, their main functions answer to emotional and competency demands of preservice teachers during the practicum. Finally, the third research line about treating and managing technologies through internships is addressed in a fifth study. A confluence is found between the training in technological terms that preservice teachers and cooperating teachers present with the influence of their internal variables, such as perceived self-efficacy or the TPACK model. This relationship is shown in the management and use of technological resources. Thus, this Thesis points out the suitability of using internships as professional development opportunities in the first training experiences for preservice teachers. After the findings, “Discussion and Conclusions” section is presented, both in Spanish and English. In this section, findings from the thesis are discussed with previous studies that present similar or different results. Additionally, some conclusions related to the effects of internship in the three research lines are also presented. Regarding the direct effects of internships on the preservice teachers’ perceptions, an improvement in perceived self-efficacy toward professional competencies during the internships is pointed out. Another subsequent effect of internships is the encouragement and strengthening of the transversal training provided by cooperating teachers in the schools. It is also related to the attention toward current educational demands from the schools. In addition, internships promote the professional development of preservice teachers through teacher performance and mentoring relationships. Regarding the effects of internship on university supervisor’s perceptions, it is pointed out the experience of advising and accompanying that generates the questioning about the self-value as a supervisor/mentor. It also allows connecting the supervisor’s functions with the needs expressed by preservice teachers. Finally, the effects of internship on the use and treatment of technologies are addressed. These effects are the promotion of a wider use and understanding of technological devices as part of the preservice teacher’s didactic and pedagogical training. Thus, this doctoral thesis concludes with the suitability for studying internships as professional development opportunities in the initial teacher education. Finally, the section “Future research lines” is presented. This section is focused on the one hand, on the improvement of the mentoring relationship and professional advice provided to preservice teachers, and on the other hand, on working on reflecting in action as an effect of the internship in the teacher’s professional career.