Students' perspectives and the meaning of the practicum in primary education

This paper collects the process of analysis and shared reflection about how the practicum period contributes in the academic training and in the professional identity of the primary degree of the universities of Malaga and Almeria' students. During the 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 academic years, and within the framework of the Research Project called 'The professional identity of new teachers', a total of 192 practicum students from both universities participated. From reflection and discussion groups, interviews and the evaluations that the students have reflected in their porfolios, we approach their respective experiences in the subject of the practicum. Their voices show us the perceived and existing distance between the curriculum exposed in the university classroom and the school reality, and the impact experienced by the students after verifying that many schools have not met their expectations. This shared, collective and reflective process developed in the practicum subject and the research process has allowed students to reconstruct and deconstruct their teaching identity and show some of the perceived weaknesses and limitations regarding the university-school relationship.