A comparative study of the use of microteaching and an analysis of factors which affect its use in one year postgraduate teacher training courses.

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with a study of the use of

microteaching in the one year postgraduate teacher training

course. It consists of two national surveys using two types

of questionnaire, an Organisation and an Attitude

Questionnaire. Education tutors and Subject Method tutors in

United Kingdom universities, polytechnics and colleges

offering one year postgraduate courses were requested to

complete questionnaires about their use of microteaching and

about their attitudes towards it. Visits were arranged to

meet the staff involved and to see the type of facilities

available. A similar survey was conducted in Departments of

Education in South African universities.

A comparative study of the use of microteaching in one

year postgraduate teacher training courses was carried out on

the data that was accumulated from the two surveys. Some

interesting points of comparison can be made both on the

types of microteaching organisation that have evolved in the

two very different education systems and on the different

attitudes of staff towards the use of microteaching.

Based on the United Kingdom data, an in-depth study of

the factors affecting the use of microteaching, was carried

out. This study was related to the changes in teacher

training in the United Kingdom during the seventies,

following the publication of the James report, leading to a

more professional approach to teacher training and the

evolution of school-based training courses.

Significant differences in the responses to the

Organisation and Attitude Questionnaires from the different

types of institution were examined using Chi-square. The

Attitude data was examined for various groups of teacher

training staff, who differed in their approaches to the

organisation of microteaching because of, for instance, the

different facilities available, the length of time available,

the size of the student group or the logistics of the

microteaching programme, by the use of Chi-square and

significant differences in the responses of the different

groups were reported.

The results from the surveys were analysed and related to

the research findings as published in the literature to see

how the practitioners of teacher education differ in their

views and approaches to microteaching from those responsible

for the research into microteaching.

Factor analysis of the responses to the Attitude

Questionnaire from the different types of training

institution, i.e. United Kingdom universities, polytechnics

and colleges and South African universities, was carried out

to examine the significant underlying factors which

influenced the responses.

The findings of the study identify economic,

organisational and philosophical factors which affect the way

microteaching is used. These factors and the recent

developments in postgraduate teacher training courses in the

United Kingdom are examined for their possible implications

for postgraduate teacher training in South Africa.