Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Overseas Professional Experience: Implications for Professional Practice

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine

Reforms in Australia on future teacher education emphasize building the knowledge and skills needed for culturally rich, diverse classrooms. A consensus among key stakeholders holds that pre-service teachers should gain grounded classroom opportunities, including teaching exposure overseas. This mixed-mode study examines what OSPEX skills and knowledge pre-service teachers need, comparing perceptions before and after Fiji OSPEX using semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. Findings indicate the need for better local preparation before OSPEX visits.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Classroom functions and teacher identity

Professional experiences (PEXs) and overseas experiences (OSPEX)

Research aims and evidence base

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 38 | Issue 12 | Article 3 | | --- | --- | 2013 Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Overseas Professional Experience: Implications for Professional Practice Mohan Chinnappan University of South Australia, [Mohan.Chinnappan@unisa.edu.au](Mohan.Chinnappan@unisa.edu.au) Barbra McKenzie University of Wollongong, [bmckenz@uow.edu.au](bmckenz@uow.edu.au) Phil Fitzsimmons Avondale College of Higher Education, [phil.fitzsimmons@avondale.edu.au](phil.fitzsimmons@avondale.edu.au) Recommended Citation Chinnappan, M., McKenzie, B., & Fitzsimmons, P. (2013). Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Overseas Professional Experience: Implications for Professional Practice. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38 (12). Retrieved from [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol38/iss12/3](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol38/iss12/3) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol38/iss12/3](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol38/iss12/3) Australian Journal of Teacher Education Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Overseas Professional Experience: Implications for Professional Practice Mohan Chinnappan University of South Australia Barbra McKenzie University of Wollongong Phil Fitzsimmons Avondale College Abstract: Reforms in Australia about the education of future teachers have placed a high degree of emphasis on the development of knowledge and skills that are necessary for practitioners who will ply their trade in culturally rich and diverse classrooms (Ramsey, 2000). There is now a broad consensus from key stakeholders (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2012) that pre-service teachers need to be provided with a range of opportunities that are grounded in classroom practices including exposure to teaching students overseas. The aim of this mixed mode study (Creswell, 2012) is to better understand the skills and knowledge that pre-service teachers need in order to function in and gain from their overseas professional experiences (OSPEX). In this study, we undertook semi-structured interviews, and then using the emerging themes compared a cohort of pre-service teachers’perceptions of OSPEX before and after their completed their professional experiences in Fiji via the use of a questionnaire. Results indicate that preservice teachers need to be better prepared locally before attempting an OSPEX visit. Introduction Classroom teachers function daily across social, emotional and cognitive domains (Bloom, 1956; Hollins, 2011; Pohl, 2000) . The basic layers of these domains include transferring ideology into praxis (National Research Council, (2005), negotiating interpersonal relationships with students and staff, reflection and dealing with off the cuff planning and operational tasks that emerge unexpectedly each day (Rodman, 2010; Walkington, 2005). These domains represent just a fraction of day-to-day teacher operations. To successfully navigate amongst and between these interlocked webs of daily functioning demands a wide repertoire of skills and knowledge. This repertoire of skill and knowledge is vastly different from that of any other profession (Bishop & Denley, 2007) with teaching being perhaps the most ambiguous of all professions as it entails the development of a highly“personal practical knowledge”(Connelly & Clandinin, 1995) . In order to begin to work towards developing their own individual sense of professional identity and ‘practical knowledge’, it is imperative that pre-service teachers observe and experience first-hand as many different school based contexts as possible in order to provide them with a stronger interpretive frame (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2005) . This need for access to experience has implications for all the in-school programs in which prospective teachers become immersed during their training. One critical aspect of this Vol 38, 12, December 2013 36 Australian

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study on OSPEX?

To better understand the skills and knowledge pre-service teachers need to function in and benefit from their overseas professional experiences (OSPEX).

How did the researchers collect data in the study?

They conducted semi-structured interviews and then used a questionnaire to compare pre-service teachers’ perceptions of OSPEX before and after their experiences in Fiji.

What do the results suggest about preparing for an OSPEX visit?

Pre-service teachers need to be better prepared locally before attempting an OSPEX visit.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine