The practicum as a space for ethical formation: towards a critical teacher identity in real-world contexts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47553/rifop.v39i3.117999Abstract
This paper explores the ethical dilemmas experienced by student teachers in the Primary Education degree at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) during their Practicum, along with the strategies they used to navigate these challenges and the types of support they received. The aim is to understand how these dilemmas shape the development of a critically reflective and ethically committed professional identity. The study follows a mixed-methods approach with a sequential design. This contribution presents results from two phases: first, a content analysis of one focus group with 8 student teachers; and second, findings from a structured questionnaire completed by 92 school-based mentors. The findings reveal that the Practicum is a critical site for the emergence of ethical tensions—linked to classroom relationships, exclusionary school practices, institutional rules, and the gap between university discourse and school reality. Yet, such dilemmas are not always identified or addressed pedagogically. While student teachers experience them as intense and transformative, mentors tend to overlook them and often lack the training to provide ethical guidance. The study concludes that ethical dimensions must be made explicit within the design and evaluation of the Practicum. Providing mentors and schools with clear frameworks, time, and resources would enable more intentional and consistent support, thus strengthening the ethical foundation of teacher education.
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