Emotional experiences of teaching amongst first year initial education students at WITS.

Abstract

The first year initial teaching experience practice of student-teachers is infused with personal pre-teaching expectations based on ‘romanticism’ and recollections of their past experiences as pupils in a schooling environment. The transition for most first year education students is often dramatic and involves various emotional experiences which influence some to drop out of the course while motivating others to continue their teacher training. This study investigates the emotional experiences and perseverance with teacher training amongst first year initial education students at WITS. This study used a qualitative research method to obtain an understanding of beginner teachers’ emotional experiences. The findings show that the initial emotional experiences of teaching can and do affect student teachers’ perceptions of teaching as well as their commitment to continue with their training.