What is the potential role of case-based teaching to enhance student teachers’ development as prospective teachers?

M.Ed. (Education)Teacher education programmes are frequently criticised for their limited ability to successfully prepare student teachers for the reality of the classroom. This study was designed to inquire into the potential role of case-based teaching to enhance student teachers’ development as prospective teachers. The object of the study was a course offered in the pre-service teacher education programme of the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg. I set out to explore the potential role of case based teaching to enhance student teachers’ development as prospective teachers. The literature review includes discussions of applicable literature which investigates the criticism against teacher education programmes, particularly the perceived theory-practice divide in the education of teachers. Possible reasons for the divide are debated followed by a discussion on what literature regards as core features of an effective teacher educator programme. The literature review concludes with an appraisal of the use of case-based teaching in teacher education, as an example of learning from practice. The design type of the enquiry was a generic qualitative study, investigating the use of case-based teaching in teacher education in a natural classroom setting to examine its potential role in enhancing student teachers’ development. Participants were two teacher educators and a sample from two large cohorts of first year student teachers who experienced case teaching. I used three main sources of data gathering: (a) interviews (individual and two sets of focus group interviews); (b) artefacts of the course (reflective essays written by first year student teachers on their views and experience of case teaching and mid-year exam scripts) and (c) audio-visual material (video footage available of the case teaching)