HOME ECONOMICS STUDENT TEACHER EARLY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE: A STRATEGY TO EFFECTIVE STUDENT TEACHING PRACTICE

This study sought to establish the effectiveness of school teaching practices for Mufulira College Home Economics students that were aligned with early exposure to the real school environment before the actual practical application of teaching practice skills. A qualitative case study was conducted to gather experiences from 50 participants who were selected using a purposive and stratified sampling method. The sampled students were divided into two groups based on their school experience. The first group of 25 were sent straight into their actual school experience without any prior exposure to a real-world school setting. In contrast, the second group of 25 students underwent real-school familiarization before embarking on their teaching practice. Data was collected using a focus group discussion guide, an interview guide and direct student observational followups. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. Results showed that students aligned with early school familiarization performed far better in their teaching practice than students not exposed. The conclusion was that early exposure of home economics student teachers to real school environment familiarization yielded better results in their practical application of teaching skills than those not exposed. It is therefore highly recommended that student teachers be exposed to real school environments to get them acquainted with real school activities before they are sent for actual teaching practice.