Funding Teaching Practice in two East African universities: Its influence on the behaviour and practices of a supervisor

Abstract

Teaching Practice is a learning process through which teacher trainees are exposed to a school environment during their internship. Time spent in the field ranges between eight and ten weeks and students are posted to different parts of the respective countries under study. The teacher trainers referred to as supervisors assume the role of mentors, facilitators of teacher trainees’ learning experiences through evaluation and reflection and fostering classroom performance. Today, faculties of education are overwhelmed by the ever increasing number of teacher trainees with disproportionate increases in human, financial and other resources essential in teacher training. The number of teacher trainees going for school practice ranges between 2500 and 3000 for each university each year. Funding Teaching Practice has not only been limited but has also not matched the current inflation rates in the two countries. The main purpose of this study was to identify how funding affects the...