Teaching knowledge and teacher competencies: a case study of Turkish preservice English teachers

Abstract

What is the relationship between preservice teachers' teaching knowledge and self-rating of competencies and their practicum experience? The participants of this study are fourth year students in the Department of English Language Education of the Faculty of Education, Mu [gbreve] la University, Turkey. Three data collection instruments were used: the Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT), the Teacher Competency Scale, and an open-ended questionnaire based on the subdimensions of the TKT test. The questionnaire, given to the student teachers at the end of their teaching practicum, aimed to explore the strengths and weaknesses preservice English teachers perceived during their real classroom experiences. The results of the TKT and Teacher Competency Scale showed that student teachers acquired means above the average. However, the qualitative data indicate that the scores obtained were not reflected in their actual classroom teaching.