Lessons and legacies: The story of a failed student teacher.

Abstract

Failure in the student teaching practicum is a phenomenon rarely studied in teacher education. Because few preservice teachers actually fail, little investigation has been done to explore more fully the phenomenon and its implications for teacher preparation. This study investigates failure in preservice teaching through the use of ethnographic, narrative, and case-study methods, and involves a preservice teacher, her cooperating teacher, and myself, a university supervisor. The data are represented in the form of story, and the story is told chronologically. The issues explored in the study include the expectations for successful preservice teaching and the ways in which this preservice teacher does not meet those expectations; how the intensive guidance of the teacher educators--the cooperating teacher and myself--inform and play out in the preservice teacher's practices over the course of the practicum; and, the preservice teacher's prior experiences with and preconceptions of teaching, teachers, students, and classrooms, and how they influence her practice. The findings and conclusions focus on the fact that while this particular preservice teacher probably would not have been successful no matter what might have been done differently from a programmatic standpoint, there are nonetheless a number of areas within teacher preparation that could be enhanced for all preservice teachers. Recommendations for future research concern the need to explore the stories of very successful preservice teachers so that their experiences can begin to provide a framework for thinking about the prior experiences, beliefs, work habits, and personal characteristics that promise success in preservice teaching.