School Internship Including Practice Teaching Programme Perceived by D.El.Ed. Pupil Teachers in West Bengal

Abstract

According to the NCTE-2014 Curriculum framework, the school internship, along with the practice teaching program of the D.EL.Ed. course, has been provided with adequate exposure. Numerous studies and committees have suggested modifications in the structure and duration of the internship program in the D.El.Ed. course to ensure the production of quality professionals in Primary and Upper Primary Teacher Education. In this paper, the researchers endeavored to examine the D.El.Ed. course school Internship program based on the guidelines and objectives outlined in the NCTE Guidelines 2014. The research was carried out at the H.S., U.G., and P.G. levels. Data was gathered through close-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews of pupil-teachers from the districts of Birbhum, Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, and Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal. The D.El.Ed. pupil teachers indicated that they actively engaged in all aspects of the D.El.Ed. internship program and gained diverse experiences during the school internship phase. Most pupil-teachers perceived challenges as 'classroom management', 'lack of time for innovative teaching methods', and 'the long distance from the Primary Teacher Education Institution to the practicing primary and upper primary school'.