The impact of the COPET programme on student PE teachers' teaching practice experiences

Teaching practice is a decisive event in a student teacher's training and shapes the beginnings of their life in the teaching profession. It is widely recognized that student teachers' learning opportunities can be maximized during teaching practice by cooperating teacher contribution (Hardy, 1999; O'Sullivan, 2003; Rikard and Veal, 1996; Tjeerdsma, 1998). Though the practice of cooperating teachers being involved in teacher education has been in place in other countries for many years, it is a relatively new concept in Ireland. This study aimed to explore student teachers' perspectives of the impact of a cooperating physical education (PE) teachers' programme that was implemented during teaching practice. The programme was piloted with 30 student teachers and 26 cooperating teachers during a two week teaching practice placement. Three focus group interviews were held with 14 student teachers to examine their experiences and to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme. The findings revealed that increased interaction with a cooperating teacher had a positive impact on the student teacher's teaching and learning experience. Recommendations for future improvement of the programme are based on developing a larger cohort of willing cooperating teachers to ensure that all student teachers are afforded equal opportunities with regard to feedback and support during teaching practice.