Research assignments in teacher education - Norwegian undergraduate student teachers’ experiences of the writing process

Abstract

The aim of Norway’s reformed teacher education programme is to educate research-literate teachers who are able to integrate research-based knowledge into classroom experiences. Based on this, the aim of the present study was to gain deeper insight into student teachers’ experiences of working on their research and development (R&D) assignments in order to obtain a better understanding of the process from their perspective. More specifically, their experiences of working on the R&D assignments before, during and after the writing process were investigated through essays. Data were collected from 59 informants from two teacher education institutions, and 137 essays were analysed in line with a thematic analytical approach. The student teachers’ experiences of working on the R&D assignments were related to two themes: a positive and challenging process, and research and teacher relevance. In line with these themes, the R&D assignments should be organised so as to provide enough support for student teachers alongside the appropriate tools for managing the research task. Furthermore, R&D assignments within teacher education can be seen as a route towards connecting research and practice and further developing research-literate teachers