INSTRUCTORS’ CONTRIBUTION TO PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IN PRESERVICE SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME

Ethiopian public universities are expected to employ experiential approaches to learning in pre-service secondary school teacher education. Accordingly, this study was carried out in three public universities to investigate participants’ perception toward instructors’ role in facilitating trainees’ experiential learning. Parallel mixed methods design was employed in the research. Quantitative data were collected from 311 trainees using questionnaire. On the other hand, qualitative data were gathered from 9 instructors and 30 trainees employing interview and focus group discussion respectively. The t–test results uncovered that the instructor’s support to the trainees’ experiential learning was significantly less than the expected one. The t-test results also disclosed lack of significant difference in the instructors’ support to the trainees’ experiential learning across gender and teaching experience. Likewise, the one way ANOVA results uncovered the absence of significant difference in the instructors’ support to the trainees’ experiential learning across CGPA. The instructors’ limitation in flexibly reorganizing the trainees’ seating arrangement, utilizing learning activities that facilitate experiential learning, initiating and facilitating the trainees’ classroom interaction and discussion, and providing the trainees with timely feedback and support in the instruction hampered the trainees’ experiential learning. Thus, the instructors are required to take measures that improve these obstructive practices.