Navigating the Practicum: An Investigation into the Problems Faced by B. Ed (Hons) Prospective Teachers

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify the problems faced by the prospective teachers during teaching practice at B. Ed (Hons) level. All prospective teachers (18 males and 116 females) enrolled in 4th and 8th semesters at the Department of Education, University of Kotli AJ&K and its affiliated colleges (Sir Syed College of Education Kotli and Guidance Girls Degree College Kotli) constituted the population of the study. The researchers selected 134 prospective teachers as the sample of the study using universal sampling technique. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was self-developed by the researchers to collect the data. Frequency, percentage, and mean scores were used to analyze the data. It was found that prospective teachers face numerous problems including difficulty in time management, students' behavior problems, financial constraints, transportation issues, heavy workload, rudeness of cooperative teachers, and difficulty in managing large classes. It was concluded that prospective teachers face significant personal, academic, cooperative teacher-related, head-teacher-related, and university/ school-related problems during their teaching practice. It is recommended that proper orientation seminars and workshops may be conducted before sending prospective teachers for teaching practice, and transport facilities may be arranged for them.