Challenges in creating value in the pre-service teachers' journey from learning to implementing student-centred approaches: an ethnographic study along a two-year PETE

The present study's purpose was to comprehend the internal dynamics of the social learning interactions inside a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) programme where pre-service teachers (PST) were learning and implementing student-centered approaches (SCA). Specifically, this article draws on the Value creation cycles framework to unveil the education development challenges faced by PSTs inside of their PETE Social Learning Space.The context was a two-year PETE programme in Portugal. In year one, the participants were three university teacher educators (TE) and 25 PSTs. In year two, the participants were 3 PSTs (from the original year one class) in their school placement, one university supervisor (US), and one cooperating teacher (CT). This study was an ethnography with a two-year longitudinal design. Data were collected through the ethnographer's participant-observations, meetings of the PSTs with the mentoring team (TEs, US, CT), and the ethnographer's field diary, reflexive log, and audio recordings. Data analysis involved the constant-comparative grounded theory method. The analysis resulted in understanding the challenges faced by PSTs while working in contexts of possible development of social learning spaces. Accordingly, findings explore the development of PSTs throughout the two years of the programme by analysing their involvement in each cycle of value creation: the PSTs' work group social dynamic; their experiences of peer-teaching SCAs before school placement; PSTs' intentions about implementing SCAs; the individualisation of PSTs learning process; relationship dynamics with stakeholders (TEs, CTs, and US); and, the lack of practical examples of SCAs implementation in the host school. The analysis of the value creation cycles encourage PETE programmes to invest in understanding the development of social learning spaces, before introducing them in programme policy, by acknowledging the importance of developing a mechanism of analysis and follow-up of its development.

Automated summary

The purpose of this study was to understand the internal dynamics of social learning interactions in a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program, where pre-service teachers were learning and implementing student-centered approaches. The study used the Value creation cycles framework to uncover the education development challenges faced by the pre-service teachers. The findings suggest that PETE programs should invest in understanding the development of social learning spaces and develop a mechanism to analyze and track their development.