Theory vs practice: the case of primary teacher education in Botswana

Abstract

This study investigated the perceptions on pre-service or student teachers regarding their teacher education program. Data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 17 pre-service student teachers in one primary college of education in Botswana. In addition, there was an analysis of documents from the Ministry of Education and Skills Development that outlined how the training of pre-service teachers should be run. Participants indicated that they spend too much time learning/exploring theory and less time of hands on experience. Research has also shown that teacher education overemphasize theory and focus less on practice in the preparation of pre-service teachers. The study results indicated that student teachers are taught too much theory and did less of teaching practice. Pre-service teachers should be given more time to do teaching practice and less time on content, as they need the application skills more than they need the content. Based on the findings in this study, it is recommended that the Tertiary Education Council in Botswana should revise the teacher education training program and to reconsider increasing the amount of time for teaching practice for the pre-service teachers.