Microsoft Word jep-vol. 7 No. 14 2016

 
Keywords:
Practicum experience, Undergraduate, Education students, Morogoro, Tanzania. 
 
1. Introduction 
Practice teaching is an important component towards becoming a teacher. It provides experiences to student 
teachers in the actual teaching and learning environment. During teaching practice, a student-teacher is given the 
opportunity to try the art of teaching before actually getting into the real world of the teaching profession. 
Student-teachers also know the value of teaching practice and they perceive it as the important aspect of their 
preparation for the teaching profession since it provides for the real interface between student hood and 
membership of the profession (Rakesh Ranjan, 2013).
Teachers in a society are thought to be agents of change as they are central to the delivery of quality 
education. Quality teachers are the greatest determinant of student achievement and their impact are greater than 
any other social factors, including class size, parent education, and income and language background (National 
Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, NCTAF, 1997). Teachers play an important role in shaping the 
future of individuals as well as of entire generations. They can also influence the economic dynamism of the 
country by imparting skills that translate into innovation and productivity in the workplace (Goldhaber and 
Anthony, 2004). Because of the current changing and challenging world, teachers should be provided with a 
range of skills, knowledge, attitudes and relevant educational experience that enable them to cope up with the 
challenge.
Education is expected to play several key roles in an effort of developing country socio-economic and 
cultural status. However, it is impossible to think of quality education without having academically qualifies and 
professionally responsible teachers on the schools. Thus, for teachers to play their role effectively in schools 
there must be a well-designed and successfully implemented teaching practice program for student teachers that 
aims at producing teachers who are academically qualified, professionally skilled, and attitudinally and ethically 
committed to their profession. The teacher’s character and quality competence are the most significant factors 
which influence the education quality and its contribution to national development (Kumar and Ratnalikar, 2005).
Given and ideal syllabus and sufficient time for teaching, a teacher will not successful achieve unless 
he/she is enthusiastic about the work, knows the subject and how to teach, keen, well informed, loves the subject 
and believes in its values in spite of difficulties and hand carps (Kumar and Ratnalikar, 2005). Teaching Practice 
(TP) program in Tanzania teachers colleges and universities takes place national wide in implementing teacher 
education curriculum but with some challenges such as lack of resources, funds and inappropriate teaching 
practice coordination. Therefore, it is suggested that undergraduate student teachers should attend teaching 
practice in secondary schools and the government should improve the classroom settings and reasonable 

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Journal of Education and Practice
www.iiste.org
 
ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online)
 
Vol.7, No.14, 2016 
114 
resources. This means that if classroom learning is to be effective, teachers must well be trained and should be 
ready to assume their professional responsibility. The teachers training program aimed at developing better 
teaching skills among student teachers. Student teachers in field-based programs have the opportunity to use 
their teaching practice experiences to regularly apply pedagogical theory and course learning to assist them to 
develop as a skilful, knowledgeable and reflective teacher (Bell, 2004). 
The provision of education has undergone several changes that aim at improving its quality. One 
obvious move is the improvement of the teaching process to reflect new needs of society. In our context this 
involved improving teacher training and introduction of competence-based education approaches (Mkonongwa, 
2012). Recently in Tanzania, it has been noted that teaching sector (example secondary teacher education) does 
not attract academically able and professionally motivated students towards teaching carrier. The government has 
been encouraging many universities to offer teacher training programs which its implementation seem to work 
properly. However, the problem of teaching practice for undergraduate students’ teachers has not been studied.
Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore/understand/describe the perception of 
undergraduate student teachers to teaching practice experience with emphasis to the education degree program, 
curriculum content and implementation of the TP and their profession. The results from the current study provide 
valuable information regarding the TP experience for undergraduate student teacher at the Faculty of Science at 
Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA). Besides, the study will not only help education implementers, TP 
coordinators and administrators will understand better the challenges of the teaching practice program at SUA 
but also give baseline data set of literature related to TP. 
Traditionally a learner was considered as an empty vessel to be filled with knowledge. In this context a 
teacher was considered a pivotal deliverer of knowledge. With the emergence of such learning theories as 
constructivism, the move has now shifted from content/teacher centred to the competence/learner-centred 
approach. The introduction of the competency-based curricula by the Tanzania Institute of Education in 2005 
was a reflection of world-wide changes aimed at concentrating on the teaching and learning process that 
emphasizes the real world application of respective course content materials and the reorientation of education to 
focus on promotion of practical knowledge or required competencies (Mkonongwa, 2012). In an attempt to cope 
with the new needs in the teaching and learning process, teacher education has tried to adjust itself. Marais and 
Meir (2004) observed that despite the fact that university lecturers value teaching practice as the bridge between 
theory and practice, student teachers sometimes found it difficult to relate course content to everyday classroom 
practice. 
The framework for teacher education proposes the preparation process of teachers be done in such a 
way that it reflects the paradigm shift from the content-based to competency-based approach in teaching and 
learning (TIE, 2009). Schultz (2005) provides support for the concept of day-to-day problem solving capacity 
development through practicum learning. The study highlighted the need for teacher preparation to support new 
teacher inquiry to help teacher candidates use problem solving approaches when they face the day-to-day 
challenges in a classroom. A study by Brouwer & Korthagen (2005) confirmed the role of the practicum in the 
overall development of competent teachers. While both classroom theory and practicum experiences were found 
to be contributors to a new teacher’s development, the practicum in a school context was more influential than 
the course components of the teacher education program on the development of teaching competence
.
However, the nature of the practicum has also been found to matter when teacher competencies are the 
desired outcome. In a study by Beck, Kosnik, and Rowsell (2007), researchers identified the need for more focus 
in the practicum on practical issues related to the daily tasks of functioning in a classroom. In this study, teacher 
candidates identified six characteristics or skills needed to be provided and developed in their preparation 
programs to prepare them to teach, including: theoretical understanding, practical knowledge and skills, 
comprehensive program planning ability, knowledge of what must be done in the first few weeks of school, 
understanding and skill in assessment and evaluation, and knowledge of how to implement effective group work. 
It is interesting to note that five of these six characteristics relate to implementation practices that might be 
expected to develop in teacher candidates during their practicum placements, even though the participants in the 
study also identified the need to have theoretical understanding.