To browse Academia. Free download from www. Becoming a teacher: Research on the work-integrated learning of student teachers, The manuscript was subjected to a rigorous twostep peer review process prior to publication, with the identities of the reviewers not revealed to the author s. The reviewers commented positively on the scholarly merits of the manuscript and recommended that the manuscript should be published. Research justification This book disseminates original research on learning in and from practice in pre-service teacher education.
Authors such as Lederman and Lederman have described the student teaching practicum or work-integrated learning WIL , which is an essential component of pre-service teacher education, as the 'elephant in the room'.
However, many teacher educators will agree that this WIL component is sometimes very insufficient in assisting the student teacher to develop an own footing and voice as a teacher. This is the 'gap' that this research book addresses. Most of the chapters in the book report empirical data, with the exception of two chapters, that can be categorised as systematic reviews. Work-integrated learning is addressed from various angles in the chapters.
Chapter 6 focusses on research related to what makes Finnish teacher education so effective, and in Chapter 4, researchers of the University of Johannesburg disseminate their findings on establishing a teaching school based on Finnish insights in Johannesburg.
Chapter 3 highlights the challenges faced in open learning and distance learning teacher education contexts. Several of the chapters disseminate research findings on alternative interventions to classic WIL, namely, where 'safe spaces' or laboratories are created for student teachers to learn and grow professionally.
