Teaching Philosophies in Practice – The Practicum and the Making of Teachers
Seminar
Date:Tuesday 27 January 2026
Time:13.00 – 14.30
Location:P473-474, Svante Arrhenius väg 20 A, floor 4
How do prospective English teachers’ educational philosophies develop during their practicum and teacher education? How are these philosophies influenced by classroom experiences and reflection? Joanna Baumgart discusses her study on student teachers of English.
Dr Joanna Baumgart. Photo: Private
This talk examines how the educational philosophies of pre-service English language teachers evolve as they move between the university and a 17-week school practicum.
The study employs thematic analysis of philosophy statements and peer discussions grounded in classroom observations, alongside analysis of over 55,000-word corpus of student-teachers’ reflective journals. By triangulating these data sources, the study gains insights into whether and how pedagogical ideas may shift or persist over time, ultimately contributing to the development of educational philosophies of prospective English language teachers. Particular attention is paid to moments when previously held beliefs are reinforced, challenged, or adapted in response to daily classroom realities as well as critical incidents.
Taken together, these perspectives offer a more nuanced understanding of how pre-service teachers make sense of their philosophies in practice. These insights have the potential to inform ways in which teacher education programs can support this crucial aspect of teacher education and professional learning.
About Dr Joanna Baumgart
Dr Joanna Baumgart is Senior Lecturer in TESOL and Language Pedagogy in the School of Education, Culture and Communication at the University of Mälardalen.
She specializes in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and language pedagogy. Her work primarily focuses on the professional development of prospective English language teachers, with a strong emphasis on reflective practice and classroom discourse.
