IMPACT OF TEACHING PRACTICE ON IMPROVING THE PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE OF STUDENT TEACHERS IN ADAMAWA STATE-NIGERIA

Abstract

Teaching practice is one of the essential elements in enhancing the quality of education in most countries, as it contributes significantly to preparing teachers and developing their skills and competencies. However, the methods and approaches of teaching practice in these countries vary based on cultural and educational contexts, but they all share the basic goal of improving teachers' pre-professional performance and enhancing their educational experience. However, this practice faces several challenges, especially in developing countries, which includes:  lack of modern equipment, which negatively affects the quality of teaching practice, as well as the lack of appropriate facilities such as laboratories and modern classrooms, which hinders the experience of student teachers. Among these challenges is the gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of the training process, which is why there is still a large disparity between the theoretical knowledge that learners receive in colleges of education and actual practices in classrooms. Many teacher trainees have notice that what they learn in the classroom is not in line with the practical reality, and among these challenges is the scarcity of support and supervision, and in this aspect, student teachers in some cases lack adequate support from mentoring teachers or supervisors during the teaching practice period, which leads to a feeling of isolation and difficulty in facing classroom challenges. On this basis, this paper aims to shed light on the impact of teaching practice on improving the professional performance of student teachers in Adamawa State-Nigeria, the research also highlights the quality of guidance and supervision provided during the period of teaching practice.  quasi-experimental research design was employed.