Dimensions and Emerging Themes in Teaching Practicum

Book excerpt: Dimensions and Emerging Themes in Teaching Practicum establishes a forum to identify the characteristics of good practices of teaching practicum and debates key concepts and emerging themes in the field. The book takes a closer look at practicum from various dimensions and aims to obtain a deeper understanding of how it is perceived and whether the stakeholders in the practicum triad –university based teacher educators, pre-service teachers and school-based mentor teachers – share a common view in the same context. It provides opportunities for personal and professional growth for teacher candidates and an increased familiarity with international employment settings. With contributions throughout from the USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Finland, Norway and Turkey, the book begins with a critical review of teaching practicum studies and goes on to consider such important topics as: pre-service teachers’ views of developing professional practice, virtual tools for teacher training, internationalization and creativity in teacher education programs. The book clarifies these key issues from the lens of research and practice by taking a closer look at practicum from various angles including new trends and practices as a response to changing needs in teacher education. Dimensions and Emerging Themes in Teaching Practicum will be of great interest to researchers and students in the teacher education field and will also appeal to teacher educators, policy makers in education and pre-service teachers.