Barriers Faced by Pre-service Teacher Trainees in their Practicum Experience

Abstract

The study aims at highlighting the barriers encountered by 4th year students during teaching training practicum. These barriers faced by pre-service teachers need more investigation, although there are some studies in the literature in this regard. Further information about the benefits and barriers encountered by university students in school teaching practicum, especially in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, is necessary. The barriers that are focused on are related to interpersonal skills or related to teaching skills. While the interpersonal skills include pre-service teachers’ relationships with school principals and schoolteachers, teaching skills may include managing students in terms of language acquisition ability, low level of motivation, classroom activities, insufficiency of adequate materials, assessment, and students’ actions. The study involved 100 4th year students who completed a 30-day teaching training from English Department at Salahaddin University-Erbil during the academic year (2023–2024). They answered a questionnaire after teaching in 36 basic and high schools. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 25). The results indicated that the pre-service teachers encounter various barriers regarding interpersonal and teaching skills. However, they have few interpersonal barriers with schoolteachers and principals during their teaching practicum. This study may confirm existing ideas about teacher practicum and highlight gaps in how well pre-service teachers are prepared. Training can improve support, and schools can enhance mentoring for pre-service teachers prepare better by knowing the barriers before practicum begins.