One Male Student Teacher’s Perception and Experiences of Student Teaching in an Infant Group Care Setting

Abstract

This qualitative case study explores in-depth how one male student teacher reflected on his care practice with infants and how he described his experiences of working with female mentor teachers. The authors used the teacher’s daily journal entries, four individual interviews, and weekly team planning meetings as data sources. The data was collected over 15-week period. Findings revealed that the teacher’s caring sense gradually evolved through care practice and that he brought in his authenticity as a teacher, not just as a male teacher, while confronting with and critically reflecting upon himself as a teacher. Also, the weekly team planning meetings helped him build relationship with the female mentor teachers. He positively reflected upon his experiences of collaborative teaching. Implication of the findings is discussed in terms of male students in early childhood teacher education programs.