An Evaluation of the Practicum Course of Pre-School Teacher Education Program in North Cyprus

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the practicum course of the pre-school teacher education programs across Ataturk Teacher Training Academy (ATTA) and Girne American University (GAU). The participants of this study were composed of senior level fourth grader pre-service teachers who were enrolled in the pre-school teacher education programs of ATTA and GAU during the 2012-2013 academic years. In the research, a curriculum assessment approach was implemented. This approach is based on pre- service teachers' beliefs regarding the extents to which they actualize the objectives of the practice teaching course in a real classroom setting, and on their opinions as to how this course could be improved. Data were collected from "teaching skill scale" and an open-ended question. The results of both quantitative and qualitative data analysis revealed that pre-service teachers displayed high teaching competency level across ATTA and GAU with no statistically significant difference between. In addition, the analysis of the results derived from content analysis yielded some considerable suggestions such as extending the duration of the practicum course with richer content, enhancing the faculty-school collaboration, and reducing the theory- practice dilemma to an extent where pre-service teachers find better opportunities to practice what they have learnt in theory.