Perceptions and Factors Affecting the Pre-Service Teachers’ Field Study (FS) Observations

Abstract

The development of pre-service teachers to teaching career are enhance through a field study. Field study is one of the major courses of pre-service teachers in which they are exposed to teaching environment in a school setting. Pre-service teachers are exposed to different teaching-learning process in a different classrooms and class subjects to observe how teaching takes place. This study aim to gather perceptions of the pre-service teachers during their field study observations and investigate the factors that affect their field study observations through survey and descriptive research. Using structured and unstructured questionnaires, twenty five (25) students enrolled in field study 6 “On Becoming a Teacher†and field study 5 “Learning Assessment Strategies were taken as respondents of the study. From the data gathered, analysis revealed that the demographic profile of the respondents are mostly 18-20 years old, single, parents educational attainment were baccalaureate degree holder and government employee with monthly income of between 15,000-20,000 Philippine money. Upon survey and interviews all (100%) of the pre-service teachers has positive perceptions of their field study observations in which it develops their quality of becoming a teachers. However, attitudes of the cooperating teachers, time management and subject loads are the factors that affect their field study observations. Thus, this study recommended that orientations between pre-service teachers and cooperating teachers must be conducted prior to pre-service teachers’ classroom observations. Moreover, subject loads for the pre-service teachers during field study must be limited for them to focus the real teaching environment.