Supervisors feedback in ELT practicum as perceived by student-teachers and (their) supervisors

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the perceptions of supervisory feedback of student-teachers and university supervisors involved in the teaching practicum, in four EFL teacher education programmes at three public universities from the central region of Argentina. The sample, which was conveniently selected based on student teachers’ and university supervisors’ interests and availability, consisted of two groups, 24 student-teachers and 8 university supervisors from the four EFL teacher education programmes. Data were obtained by means of a questionnaire, which included close-ended and open-ended questions, and semi-structured interviews. In order to analyse the data and allow for the concurrent analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, a mixed methods approach was employed. After considering the perceptions of the student-teachers and the university supervisors participating in this research study, the findings suggested a characterisation of supervisory feedback that contributed to deepen the existing knowledge about feedback in the teaching practicum context. Moreover, the results obtained provide relevant information to understand, interpret and anticipate the impact of supervisory feedback on student-teachers and university supervisors in the English Language Teaching (ELT) practicum.