A Study of Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Teaching the Arts in Primary Schools

Abstract

Abstract Recent reform of initial teacher education has changed the balance of school‐based training of students and has increased teachers’ responsibility for training them in schools. This article reports on a preliminary study of primary undergraduate student teachers’ perceptions of their experience in schools on their second year and final teaching practices. Through questionnaires and structured interviews we sought students’ views of the effectiveness of university‐based courses in preparing them to teach the arts and their perceptions of the support given to them by teachers in training them to teach art, dance, drama and music in schools. The findings raised concerns about the quality of experience currently being offered to students by teachers. Indications were that the number of students able to learn from the teachers about the four subjects was significantly low. The students’ comments suggested that existing teacher expertise in these subjects was lacking and this raises issues regarding school‐based initial teacher education as well as in‐service training for teachers.