Listening To the Concerns of Student Teachers In Malaysia During Teaching Practice

This study examined the concerns and experiences of Malaysian student teachers during their practicum. The 14 student teachers who volunteered were asked to maintain a reflective journal throughout their practicum to document their teaching concerns and confidence to teach. Eighteen derived concerns were identified and placed into four main themes: (a) classroom management and student discipline; (b) institutional and personal adjustment; (c) classroom teaching; and (d) student learning. Specific comments were sought to provide citations that represented their concerns. This paper has intended to draw attention to the underlying reasons given by student teachers about their concerns prior to and during the practicum in order to integrate areas of concern into future management and development of teacher education. The value of the study was in the pursuit of using student teachers' own capacity to self-assess and appraise their circumstances as a research area in teaching; and showed how the understanding of learning to teach could be enriched through their own self-awareness of the circumstances surrounding them.