Volume/Issue :

Article type :

Case study

Page No :

58-73

Abstract :

Pre-service teachers’ professional becoming is a complex process that involves not only acquiring professional knowledge and skills, but also perceiving oneself as a teacher and forming professional identity. Teaching practice plays a significant role in this process, as pre-service teachers encounter real educational situations, test their professional skills, build relationships with students and the school community, and reflect on their experiences. Therefore, this study aims to investigate pre-service teachers’ experiences of professional becoming and the challenges they encounter during independent teaching practice. The study used a qualitative research approach. The study involved 38 fourth-year students enrolled in the Subject Pedagogy minor study programme who had completed independent teaching practice. The research data were collected through written reflective essays in which the participants retrospectively reflected on their perception of themselves as future teachers before and during teaching practice and projected their professional “self” into the future. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis, identifying subcategories and grouping them into broader categories. The research results revealed that teaching practice becomes a significant experience in pre-service teachers’ professional becoming, during which their prior perceptions of themselves as teachers are inseparable from actual teaching practice. During the practice, professional challenges emerged related to the assessment of their own abilities, the organisation of teaching, relationships with students, and responsibility for their learning.

Keywords :

pre-service teachers, professional becoming, teaching practice, professional identity, reflection

References :

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Cite as :

Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė, R., & Šimkienė, A. (2026). Būsimųjų mokytojų profesinio tapsmo patirtys ir iššūkiai pedagoginės praktikos metu [Pre-service teachers’ experiences and challenges of becoming a teacher during teaching practice]. Švietimas: politika, vadyba, kokybė / Education Policy, Management and Quality, 17(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.48127/spvk-epmq/26.17.58