University Supervisors’ Perceptions on Preservice Teachers’ Lesson Planning During Teaching Practice: The Case of a South African University

Abstract

Lesson planning, a pivotal aspect aiding the achievement of any lesson objective and eventually education goal, seems to be nothandled as expected in recent times. This is perhaps because preservice teachers tend to fail in meeting the expected demands in their lesson planning. Hence, this study explores the perceptions of university supervisors on preservice teachers’ lesson planning during their teaching practice, using selected schools where preservice teachers from a rural based university in South Africa undertook the teaching practice exercise. The study employed a qualitative method. Thus, structured interviews were conducted for 19 university supervisors who supervised preservice teachers during teaching practice. The findings of the study show that lesson planning is crucial to the delivery and attainment of lesson objectives. Also, a majority of the supervised preservice teachers still lag in the area of lesson planning. The study therefore recommends, among other things, that preservice teachers be taught lesson planning from the early stages of their study and be drilled on it, so that they understand clearly its elements.