Primary English teacher education in Portugal: an exploratory study

• Autor(a) principal: Vieira, Flávia
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Mourão, Sandie, Andrade, Ana Isabel, Cruz, Mário, Reis-Jorge, José, Leslie, Carolyn, Orega, Maria Isabel, Pinho, Ana Sofia, Silva, Elisabete Mendes, Simões, Ana Raquel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/26829
• topic: Initial teacher education; Professional learning; Teaching English as a foreign language; Primary education; Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Education

The expansion of early language learning has fostered the need to prepare qualified teachers of English to young learners. This paper presents findings from a multi-site case study of initial teacher education programmes created in 2015 in Portugal when English became compulsory in grades 3 and 4. The study investigated intended professional learning competences and tasks as described in curricula, as well as teaching and inquiry practices developed in practicum settings. A multi-method approach was used, involving the analysis of ten higher education institutions’ curricula, a sample of practicum reports, the responses of former student teachers to an online survey, and reflective records from student teachers, faculty supervisors, and cooperating teachers. Findings portray a reflective, inquiry-oriented view of professional development and the enactment of current teaching approaches. The study stresses the role of curricula and practicum arrangements in creat- ing meaningful professional learning scenarios and promoting lear- ner-centred teaching in schools.