A critical first step in learning to teach

Concerns with respect to the tenacity and pervasive power of student teachers’ initial beliefs and preconceptions about teachers and teaching are well documented. Students enter preservice teacher education with beliefs and preconceptions that, although misinformed and naive, typically play a critical role in the acquisition of new knowledge from both on-campus and practicum courses. Preservice teacher education institutions run the risk of having their courses dismissed as irrelevant unless practices are adopted that relate the programme of study explicitly to the beliefs and preconceptions of the student teachers.