Exploring Pre-Service Teacher Development Through Daily Journal Reflections: A Case Study

This article explores the findings of a qualitative case study of journal entries by 10 final-year English pre-service teachers during their five-week practicum in disadvantaged schools in South Africa's Gauteng province. The study sought to investigate the nature and depth of reflection as well as student teachers' perceptions regarding the writing of daily journal entries. It drew on socio-constructivist theory, which emphasises learning as a dialogic engagement with the source of knowledge and participants involved. Data was collected from the student teachers' daily reflections, as evidenced by their teaching journals, and interview responses at the end of their teaching practice. Findings revealed that most of the reflections were on contextual issues and that, contrary to expectations, journal entries lacked in-depth exploration of classroom practice. The study is part of continuous course evaluation and contributes to the ongoing initiatives for improving the quality of teacher education in open distance learning (ODL).