Page 95 - Empowering pre-service teachers through inquiry - Lidewij van Katwijk

Pre-service teacher inquiry; an international comparison
Both pre-service teachers: “Yeah, pretty cool.” Lily: “Critically think....”
Interviewer: “And that wasn’t before?”
Zoe: “No.”
Lily: “Well I think it was there before, but now we’ve got more knowledge, more 4 tools. This went more in depth.”
Joost, a Dutch student (PST NL1), mentioned similar learning outcomes: “I did this pre-service teacher research to tick the last box, to graduate, but I know I have learned a lot! For example, this inquiry habit of mind. I have become a better teacher, because I have conducted research; I think more critically.”
Perceived learning outcomes in questionnaires
Both educators and pre-service teachers reported a range of learning outcomes in the questionnaires and focus groups. One area of the questionnaire was devoted to the perceived ability of pre-service teachers to conduct research (α = 0.77). All questionnaires completed by the educators from both the Dutch and Australian institutes (N = 17) reveal high scores in this area, with a mean of 4.4 (SD = 0.63). These educators believe students have learned to design and conduct practitioner research. They express positive ideas about the experienced learning outcomes of pre-service teachers in terms of their use of practical knowledge as a teacher, gained through their research. The questionnaires completed by pre-service teachers (N = 27) reveal very high scores on their perceived ability to conduct research (α = 0.87), with a mean of 5.0 (SD = 1.1) on the six-point scale.
In terms of the most important learning outcome, the pre-service teachers’ answers to the open question revealed several aspects related to how to conduct research, linking theory to practice, and an inquiry habit of mind, such as “learning how to be a reflective teacher” (PST AU) or “learning to be open-minded, without a tunnel vision” (PST NL). Multiple educators offered similar responses, including “to gain an understanding of the connection between theory and practice” or “to develop a critical disposition.”
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