Teaching practice in Initial Teacher Education: its impact on student teachers' professional skills and development

This paper describes the main gains resulting from student teachers' first contact with the teaching profession. The Inventory of Experiences and Perceptions at Teaching Practice (IEPTP) was used to assess the range of experiences of a sample of 224 student teachers on five dimensions of teaching practice: (1) learning and professional development; (2) professional and institutional socialisation; (3) socio‐emotional aspects; (4) support/resources/supervision; and (5) vocational development. The results describe the main changes occurring in the student teachers' perceptions between the beginning and the end of teaching practice. They also suggest more significant changes in the areas of vocational development, professional and institutional socialisation, and learning and professional development. Strategies to promote student teachers' learning process and to decrease the difficulties emerging during this period are suggested. Supervisors' role in fostering and supporting the new candidates' professional and personal growth is also addressed.