Investigating changes in pedagogical knowledge and skills from pre-service to the initial year of teaching

This study examined the levels of pedagogical knowledge and skills as perceived by student teachers who were enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma in Education program at the National Institute of Education, Singapore, from the beginning of their initial teacher preparation program to the end of their first year of teaching. Their perceptions were assessed using the Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills in Teaching (PKST) survey which comprised six factors, namely, Student Learning, Lesson Planning, Instructional Support, Accomodating Diversity, Classroom Management, and Care and Concern. A sample of 812 student teachers participated in the study. The MANOVA conducted showed that there were significant increases in both their pedagogical knowledge and skills in teaching in all six factors from the start of their initial teacher preparation (ITP) program till the end of their first year of teaching. However, between the exit from the program to the end of the first year of teaching, they only perceived that their level of pedagogical knowledge in classroom management and care and concern continued to increase significantly. In the case of self-perceived skills, their level increased significantly between entry and exit of the program for all factors, except for care and concern, while the increase between the exit and first year of teaching was significant for all six factors. These results may have implications for preservice teacher education and this will be discussed in this article.