Student Teachers as Future Researchers - How do Hungarian and Austrian Initial Teacher Education Systems Address the issue of Teachers as Researchers?

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

Initial teacher education, though brief compared with later career stages, is crucial for shaping student teachers’ long-term professional activities. This paper examines how the concept of teachers as researchers is addressed in initial teacher education programmes and what practice-oriented research experiences student teachers gain. A case study design compares one Hungarian and one Austrian institution. Results indicate research is integrated in both universities, but with differing approaches and limited practice connection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Teachers as researchers in initial teacher education

Research questions and comparative case study design

Findings on integration and practice orientation

doi: 10.26529/cepsj.518 Student Teachers as Future Researchers: How do Hungarian and Austrian Initial Teacher Education Systems Address the issue of Teachers as Researchers? Csilla Pesti*1, János Gordon Győri2 and Erika Kopp3 • Even though initial teacher education is a rather short period in comparison to the other phases ofa teacher’s career, it has a crucial role in shaping student teachers’ career-long activities. Many argue that everyday teaching in a classroom setting is comparable to conducting research, as teachers pursue experimenting with different strategies to teaching and learning, as they reflect on their own as well as their colleagues’ work, and as they make decisions about their future steps based on these experiences. This paper aims to reveal how the concept of teachers as researchers is addressed in initial teacher education programmes by answering two questions: How is the concept of teachers as researchers represented in these programmes? What kind of experiences do student teachers have regarding practice-oriented research? The research has a case study design with a comparative aspect, in which one Hungarian and one Austrian institution offering initial teacher education serve as the two cases. Results show that both universities have integrated research into their initial teacher education programmes, but in different ways and to different extents. An important notion is that although various courses that deal with research and/or research methodology and could contribute to the development of student teachers’ research competences could be identified, the activities of these courses are somewhat restricted to taking place within the university walls (e.g., discussion of research results), detached from practice. The study is expected to contribute to the understanding of structural similarities and differences in initial teacher education systems in the two countries that may foster or hinder the development of student teachers’development during their school-based teaching practice, with a particular focus on those that are required to conduct practice-oriented research. Keywords: initial teacher education, student teachers, teacher education programmes, teachers as researchers 1 *Corresponding Author. Doctoral School of Educational Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary; [csilla.pesti@gmail.com](csilla.pesti@gmail.com). 2 Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institution of Intercultural Psychology and Education, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary. 3 Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institute of Education, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary. Študentje pedagoških programov kot prihodnji raziskovalci: kako madžarski in avstrijski sistem začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev naslavljata vprašanjeučiteljev kot raziskovalcev Csilla Pesti, János Gordon Győri in Erika Kopp • Čeprav je začetno izobraževanje za učiteljski poklic razmeroma kratko obdobje v primerjavi z drugimi fazami učiteljeve kariere, ima osrednjovlogo v oblikovanju dejavnosti študentov pedagoških programov, ki se bodo odvijale skozi njihovo celotno kariero. Veliko jih trdi, da je v tem, koučitelji eksperimentirajo z različnimi strategijami poučevanja in učenja, ko reflektirajo o lastnem delu in delu svojih kolegov, ko se na podlagi teh izkušenj odločajo o prihodnjih korakih, vsakdanje poučevanje v razredu primerljivo z izvajanjem raziskave. Ta prispevek skuša z odgovarjanjem na naslednji vprašanji razkriti, kako je koncept učiteljev kot raziskovalcevnaslovljen v programih začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev: Kako je koncept učiteljev kot raziskovalcev zastopan v teh programih? Kakšne izkušnjeimajo študentje pedagoških smeri z naprakso usmerjenim raziskovanjem? Raziskava ima obliko študije primera s primerjalnim vidikom, pri čemer kot dva primera služita ena madžarska in ena avstrijska ustanova, ki ponujata začetno izobraževanje učiteljev. Izsledki kažejo, da sta obe univerzivključili raziskovanje v svoje programe začetn

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study?

To reveal how the concept of teachers as researchers is addressed in initial teacher education programmes and what experiences student teachers have regarding practice-oriented research.

How is the research designed?

The study uses a case study design with a comparative aspect, involving one Hungarian and one Austrian initial teacher education institution as cases.

What do the results show about Hungarian and Austrian programmes?

Both universities integrate research into their initial teacher education programmes, but they do so in different ways and to different extents.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay