The Personal Professional Development of Pre-service Teachers: A Study of Narratives

Understanding the process of the personal and professional development of pre - service teachers is significant in exploring their potential for self growth and evolution into reflective practitioners. The present study embarks on a thematic analysis of the narrative texts of the reflective journals of six pre-service teachers who were placed in the same school for their internship. The framework in which the analysis has been done focuses on three dimensions: (i) engagement with learners (ii) transaction of the teaching learning processes; and (iii) self concept as a teacher. The findings of the study emphasize two important aspects: the role of reflection in the personal professional development of prospective teachers and the need for a paradigm shift from a uniform, institution-built approach to teacher development to a context related, flexible and reflection oriented mentoring approach that acknowledges the voices and experiences of the evolving teachers.