Pre-service Teachers' Challenges during Teaching Practice in One University in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Teaching practice provides student teachers with the chance to express their personal educational philosophies, theories and understandings and creates an opportunity for student teachers to experiment and test their knowledge and skills in the profession of teaching and learning. However, student teachers face challenges during this professional exercise. Hence, the study examines challenges encountered by pre-service teachers during teaching practice. This qualitative study adopts an interpretativist research paradigm. 67 files were purposively selected for analysis and discussion. It was discovered that a conducive environment, exploration of experiential knowledge, student centeredness, and teaching language as a social practice are the fundamental teaching philosophies. The study concludes that the student teachers were able to identify most of these challenges, which to the researchers is a good starting point for finding solutions. The study recommends among others that school based mentors should ensure that student teachers are supported during their work integrated learning since they require opportunity for personal growth.