Exploring Pre-Service Teachers’ Views Regarding Teaching for Transformation: A Proposed Autonomous-Transformative Framework for Higher Education Institutions

Pre-service teachers’ views on their autonomy experienced during practice teaching sessions in schools were investigated in order to determine the extent to which they are autonomous and transformative. The pre-service teachers participated in a qualitative study and were all completing their final year of study in the module, Education for Transformation (EFK112). Data yielded from the interviews revealed that pre-service teachers do not know how to be autonomous and were uncertain as to how to teach for transformation. In this regard, five themes emerged which emphasise pre-service teachers’ desires to be empowered. However, they remain demotivated to contribute positively to transforming the school environment because they do not know how to use their autonomy to teach for transformation. Issues such as fostering positive emotions, motivation, capabilities, autonomy and how to teach for transformation motivated us to propose a framework for higher education institutions with the focus on empowering pre-service teachers to be autonomous and to contribute to a transformed learning environment.