Belief-Practice Tensions in EFL Teachers' Online Practicum
JOURNAL OF LEARNING AND TEACHING IN DIGITAL AGE, cilt.11, sa.4, ss.270-285, 2026 (ESCI)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 11 Sayı: 4
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.53850/joltida.1659792
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF LEARNING AND TEACHING IN DIGITAL AGE
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.270-285
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Kuzey Kıbrıs Kampüsü Adresli: Evet
Özet
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, much has been written about its impact on education. However, with most studies focusing on the challenges met by teachers or students in general, fewer studies have examined how pre-service English language teachers' practicum experiences were shaped during the period of online instruction. Departing from this premise, this mixed-methods study reports the teaching experiences of seven pre-service EFL teachers during their practicum course in a higher education setting in Northern Cyprus, a fast-growing yet understudied context. We gathered data through qualitative and quantitative surveys, as well as reflective diary entries. The findings indicate that pre-service teachers' pedagogical beliefs and classroom practices were shaped by persistent belief-practice tensions, which resulted from the interplay of variety of factors (e.g., lack of preparation, insufficient collaboration opportunities with mentors, limited reel time teaching and contextual factors just to name a few) during the online practicum. At the micro, meso, and macro levels, the study suggests that teacher education programmes should reconceptualise their aims, as there is a need to make pre-service teachers' learning experiences more responsive to unexpected situations.