Exploring Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of Research Engagement in Bachelor Studies
Loading...
Date
2020-08
Authors
Daniyarova, Sabina
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education
Abstract
Quickly updating knowledge and a changing labor market require people to learn on a continuing basis. In such circumstances, teachers are key players in the development of the necessary skills, especially in light of depreciation of the routine cognitive skills (Schleicher, 2011; World Economic Forum, 2016). The role of research in undergraduate teacher education has received considerable attention worldwide as one of the ways to address the challenge of developing skills for the 21st century (Munthe & Rogne, 2015; Niemi & Nevgi, 2014; Atmaca, 2017). In effect, official professional standards for teachers establish research skills as one of the occupational prerequisites in Kazakhstan (Atameken, 2017). Within the confines of the Kazakhstani educational system, all bachelor students, as part of their qualifying examinations, are required to write a thesis as a capstone research project (MoES, 2018). In light of this, the present study aimed to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of research engagement at one university of Kazakhstan. Semi-structured interviews were addressed to 14 pre-service teachers of mathematics, Kazakh, Russian and English languages studying in the fourth-year of university. The findings revealed that pre-service teachers’ education was focused on learning about the current research in the field as well as on conducting independent student research, which refer to research-led and research-based nature of undergraduate research integration (Healey & Jenkins, 2009). The findings suggest that major perceived benefits of research engagement were improved subject knowledge, enhanced communication, analytical and creative thinking skills. Moreover, research experiences stimulated reflective practice on teaching and learning. The interviews also revealed that pre-service teachers experienced a lack of resources in Kazakh and Russian languages, poor relationships with supervisors, absence of a choice of topics for research projects as predicaments in their research experiences.
Description
Keywords
teacher education, undergraduate research, research-based education, higher education, undergraduate students