چکیده:
Practicum is a significant component of teacher education which links theory to practice and prepares student teachers for their job. The purpose of the courses, as defined within the Curriculum of Teacher Education at Farhangian University, is to prepare student teachers for their teaching career by observing and analyzing the real situation at schools and relating it to their theoretical findings. The present study was an attempt to conduct a critical needs analysis in which teachers and learners voiced their concerns, problems and needs in practicum courses. It mostly focused on student teachers’ voice since they are the most powerless in this educational setting. It intended to look for distinctive features of the practicum courses (four courses) presented at Farhangian University. To this end, the study investigated the achievement of the course objectives, stated in the curriculum for practicum, and the fulfillment of students’ needs from stakeholders’ perspective. Findings revealed major problems with these courses including (a) lack of training in action research, lesson study, critical thinking, and reflection skills for all members of practicum, (b) insufficiency of flexibility in teaching methods, resources and materials used by cooperating teachers at schools to act as a role model for student teachers, (c) lack of cooperation between schools and university, and (d) lack of proper supervision by teacher educators, to name a few. Findings of the study would raise TEFL curriculum developers, teacher educators, and cooperating teachers’ awareness of student teachers’ needs in practicum courses.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Findings revealed major problems with these courses including (a) lack oftrainingin action research, lesson study, critical thinking, and reflection skills for all members of practicum, (b) insufficiency of flexibility in teaching methods, resources and materials used by cooperating teachers at schools to act as a role model for student teachers, (c) lack of cooperation between schools and university, and (d) lack of proper supervision by teacher educators, to name a few.
Among the few studies about practicum courses at Farhangian University in Iran, Norouzi(2016) mentioned the objectives for the eight credits of practicum at Farhangian University as, (a) “to provide student-teachers with the opportunity to practice what they learn, to broaden their experiences, and to develop their professional competencies”, (b) “to provide student-teachers with the opportunity to participate in actual teaching and expect them to identify problems through investigating the learning context, and consequently, design, implement, and evaluate learning activities to solve the problems”, (c) “to do action research based on the experiences that student-teachers obtain from practicum I and II”, and (d) “to educate reflective teachers who attend in collaborative inquiry and undertake action research” (pp.
g. , Foroozandeh, Riazi,& Sadighi, 2008; Razi & Kargar, 2014) agree that teaching skills development is an essential part of an efficient program and the Curriculum for Teacher Education (2014) states that these courses should help the students make a link by using action research and lesson study.