The Micropolitics of Student Teachers' Professional Vulnerability in the Teaching Practicum: A Chinese Perspective

• In Event: Justice-Oriented Transformations in Preservice Teachers' Field Experiences

Abstract

This research illustrates seven student teachers’ (STs’) professional vulnerability from the lens of micropolitical theory and examines the participants’ eleven aspects of professional vulnerability, which mainly include the relationships among mentors and mentees, conflicting commitments and interests in teaching practicums, peripheral positions as student teachers, and blurring responsibility boundary in student teaching. Second, this study reveals how the participants navigate the hierarchical power dynamics, conflicting interests embedded in the teaching practicums. Third, this study demonstrates that the micropolitical realities of the teaching practicums affect the Chinese STs’ professional vulnerabilities, and the tensions further contributed to the uncertainty and fragility of their professional identity formation. The implications for improving the quality of teaching practicums, especially student teaching in China, are discussed.

Author

• Gang Zhu, East China Normal University