Student-teachers’ experiences of teaching Life Orientation during work-integrated learning

Abstract

This study aimed to explore student teachers’ (final-year B.Ed. students) experiences teaching Life Orientation (LO) during their work-integrated learning (WIL). The research was conducted in consideration of the apparent gap between theory and practice, as student teachers sometimes find it difficult to relate course content to daily classroom practice, and limited literature exists in South Africa regarding this phenomenon. The literature explored in this study illustrated what other scholars have said regarding this study’s research topic. This included, among others, the work of Marais and Meier (2004), Prinsloo (2007), and Magano and Rambado (2012), which dealt with student teachers during their work-integrated learning, the status of LO, and stakeholders’ perspectives of the subject. This study was qualitatively underpinned by a phenomenological research design and interpretive paradigm. Furthermore, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model systems theory was employed to explore how student teachers function within complex systems.

The participants were purposefully selected, and an in-depth description of the phenomenon was achieved through two focus group discussions. The data were analysed through thematic analysis. Four themes emerged from the findings, namely; student teachers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for obtaining their teaching degree and how they perceive the teaching profession; status quo of Life Orientation as a subject; the merging of curricula and fieldwork (theory and practical experiences); and student teachers’ experiences of work-integrated learning. The participants reported negative and positive experiences in teaching LO during their WIL period.

Keywords: Student-teacher, Work-integrated learning, Experience, Life Orientation