Trainee Teacher Perspectives On Induction Program For Primary School Trainee Teacher

The induction program for primary and secondary school(including kindergarten)trainee teachers in Shanghai is a municipal trainee teacher training system,which aims to promote education integration for pre-service teachers.It is a groundbreaking exploration as well as an innovation in the educational system.Till 2020,the program has been implemented and advanced for over 7 years.In 2016,I myself participated the training program and embraced some concerns and doubts about the program.Therefore,I conducted this research mainly from the perspective of a primary trainee teacher.Based on the needs of trainee teachers,the paper aims to examine the current situation of program's implementation;discover problems existing among trainee teachers;and explore the possibility to optimize the program.To achieve the research purposes,I reviewed current research on the theory of teachers' post-development stage and constructivism learning theory.Adopting both quantitative and qualitative research methods,I conducted a questionnaire survey with nearly 200 primary teachers and interviews towards 12 trainee teachers,6trainers and 2 program managers in B District,Shanghai.The findings show that there are significant differences among different groups of trainee teachers,both in their requirements towards the program and their achievements in professional development.In general,the program has achieved some success,as the majority of the trainee teachers expressed positive comments on it.However,since the current training mode and content are very much “unified”,it cannot meet the needs of trainee teachers,according to their different educational backgrounds and teaching capacities.For example,the program lack flexibilities regarding the training time,form,and its assessment and evaluation methods.In other words,individual support for trainee teachers are far from adequate.Based on the findings,this paper puts forward several suggestions as below.First,for curriculum planners,it is better to optimize the curriculum structure and adjust its content based on the different requirements from different groups of trainee teachers.For instance,multi layered and diversified training can be introduced,which tries to provide specific guidance and meet multiple needs for the trainee teachers.Second,training forms and evaluation methods need to be advanced,so as to improve the efficiency.For example,knowledge and skills measurement of trainee teachers can be taken into evaluation process.Third,the internet education environment should be fully used to develop professional development partnerships with other educational programs,so as to enrich educational resources.