Explain the purposes and significance of teaching practice in teacher education curriculum.

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Ans: Teaching practice is an important component of becoming a teacher. It grants student teachers experience in the actual teaching and learning environment (Ngidi & Sibaya, 2003:18; Marais & Meier, 2004:220; Perry, 2004:2). 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 (Kasanda, 1995). Student teachers also know the value of teaching practice and as remarked by Menter (1989:461), they perceive it as 'the crux of their preparation for the teaching profession' since it provides for the 'real interface' between studenthood and membership of the profession. As a result, teaching practice creates a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, excitement and apprehension in the student teachers as they commence their teaching practice (Manion, Keith, Morrison & Cohen, 2003; Perry, 2004:4).

Marais & Meier (2004:221) assert that the term teaching practice represents the range of experiences to which student teachers are exposed when they work in classrooms and schools. Marais and Meier (2004:221) further argue that teaching practice is a challenging but important part of teacher training, especially in developing countries such as South Africa, where the effectiveness of the teaching practice can be diminished or eroded by a range of challenges, such as geographical distance, low and uneven levels of teacher expertise, a wide-ranging lack of resources as well as a lack of discipline among a wide cross-section of learners and educators. These challenges, if not addressed, may affect student teachers' performance during teaching practice and may in the long run affect their perception of the teaching profession (Quick & Sieborger, 2005).

Menter (1989:460) notes that there has been a shift in the literature from the concept of teaching practice (associated with an apprenticeship model) to the concept of field/school experience (associated with an experiential model). Lave & Wenger (1991) point out that however way it may be envisaged, the notion of teaching practice is entrenched in experience-based learning initiated by Dewey (1938), Vygotsky's (1978) social cognitive theory, and founded in the premise of situated learning. Consequently as suggested by the South African Norms & Standards for Educators (Republic of South Africa, 2000:12), teaching practice is meant to provide for the authentic context within which student teachers are exposed to experience the complexities and richness of the reality of being a teacher. This process allows the student teacher an opportunity to establish whether the right career choice has been made or not. However, despite its importance, Killen & Steyn (2001) note that teaching practice sometimes becomes a demoralising and sometimes very frightening experience.

Several studies have been conducted on student teacher's experience and anxieties during teaching practice (Ngidi & Sibaya, 2003; Marais & Meier, 2004)to mention but two. However a review of the literature indicates that there are limited studies that have been conducted regarding ways in which students' experiences during teaching practice influence their perception of and attitudes towards the teaching profession.

The study examined the experiences of Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) student teachers during their teaching practice in the Vaal Triangle. The study was prompted by a class discussion where students were requested to give reasons for choosing the teaching profession. The majority of the students in that class indicated that they were doing the course by default. The students saw it as a stopgap while they waited for better career opportunities in other fields. Most of the students were from other countries and had been offered government bursaries to enrol for the PGCE programme. These students enrolled because they had no alternative, since they were not able to get jobs after their undergraduate qualification and because there was funding available for them to do the PGCE course. The majority of student teachers indicated that they had no intention of teaching after the course. During the year, some students maintained the same attitude while others felt that teaching was "not such a bad thing after all". All students had continued with the course until the time they had had to go for teaching practice.

While curriculum specialists, administrators and outside educational companies spend countless hours developing curriculum, it is the teachers who know best what the curriculum should look like. After all, they work directly with the students meant to benefit from the curriculum. In order to create a strong curriculum, teachers must play an integral role in every step of the process.