Proceedings of the 7th World Conference on Education and Teaching
Year: 2025
DOI:
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The Reflective Process in Initial Teacher Training: Building the Teaching Profession
Catarina Mangas, Jenny Sousa
ABSTRACT:
Teacher training, in general, and the pedagogical practice component, in particular, imply a set of scientific and didactic skills and knowledge, based on a reflective process. The critical analysis of their actions allows them to identify weaknesses and adjust approaches, making teaching more effective and aligned with the requirements of the tutelage, educational contexts and the particularities of students.
In Portugal, the training of kindergarten teachers and primary school teachers implies, in addition to a basic degree, a professional master’s degree, which includes a strong component of supervised teaching practice, always accompanied by moments of oral and written reflection.
Based on a qualitative research, written reflections were analyzed, elaborated by future teachers, who were attending the 2nd cycle of studies in a School of Education, in the central region of the country. In this analysis, aspects such as the effectiveness of the previously prepared planning in relation to the action in the field were considered, the effect of the educational action on the ideas, knowledge and actions of the students, and the way in which the trainee teachers based their action, in a constructive and critical perspective.
The results indicate that the reflections on the first pedagogical experiences lead to the identification of strengths and weaknesses of the trainees, which allow rethinking the teaching methodologies implemented and the learning resources selected and/or built. The reformulation of previous conceptions results, therefore, in the increase of autonomy and confidence of future teachers, supporting more conscious decision-making and, in a global way, the construction of a professional identity.
keywords: initial training, pedagogical reflection, professional identity, supervised teaching practice, teachers