Volume 13, Number 1

Views of Teacher Students in Greece’s Departments of Primary Education Regarding their Teacher Education Programs

  Authors

Olga Pavlidou ¹ and Vassiliki Papadopoulou ², ¹ University of Western Macedonia, Greece, ² Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

  Abstract

This study examines the views of final-year students concerning the teacher education programs offered by Greece's nine Departments of Primary Education. The research involved 507 fourth-year students from the academic year 2020-2021, who completed a structured questionnaire with 19 closed-ended and 8 open-ended questions. The findings reveal that most students express satisfaction with their Department's teacher education program. They acknowledge the significant role of various courses in their pre-service training and feel adequately prepared for classroom teaching. However, they express concerns about managing students with special educational needs and instructing specific subjects. To address these challenges, they propose enhancements to their teacher education programs, primarily focusing on expanding and improving Teaching Practice, incorporating more practical courses at the academic level and placing greater emphasis on training for groups with special educational characteristics. These insights underscore the importance of refining teacher education programs to better equip future educators for the complexities of modern classrooms.

  Keywords

teacher education, teacher education programs, departments of primary education, students’ views