Student Teachers’ Deviance to Learner Dispositions and Self-Regualted Teaching: A Study of Lived Expereinces of David Livingstone College of Education Pre-Service Teachers, Zambia

Student Teachers’ Deviance to Learner Dispositions and Self-Regualted Teaching: A Study of Lived Expereinces of David Livingstone College of Education Pre-Service Teachers, Zambia

Samwangala Kaumba., Francis Simui

School of Education, University of Zambia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51244/IJRSI.2025.121500052P

Received: 19 March 2025; Accepted: 24 March 2025; Published: 26 April 2025

ABSTRACT

This study explores the lived experiences of student teachers also referred to as pre-service teachers’ deviance to learner dispositions and self-regulated learning at David Livingstone College of Education (DALICE) in Zambia. Employing a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological approach, the study purposively selected 15 student teachers and 5 expert lecturers in-order to understand the nuances of students’ and teacher educators’ lived experiences of these important aspects of teacher preparation. Data was analyzed thematically.

Key findings indicate that student teachers struggled with time management, collaborative engagement, and resource utilization. They lacked coping mechanisms and strategic responses to academic pressures, influenced by both personal challenges and instructional gaps from lecturers. Themes such as avoidance of concentration, low self-direction, ineffective planning, and diminished self-esteem emerged, underscoring the complexities of self-regulated learning. However, student reflections highlighted potential improvements through enhanced study habits, diverse resource consultation, structured feedback, and collaborative learning.

The study recommends personalized feedback, reduced workloads, and high-yield instructional strategies in teacher training programs. It emphasizes assessments that promote critical thinking and originality while discouraging plagiarism. Strengthening self-regulated learning strategies in teacher education is essential for improving training outcomes.

Keywords: David Livingstone College of Education (DALICE), Self-Regulated Learning (SRL), Teacher Training Learning Dispositions (TTLD) and Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ).

INTRODUCTION

A predominant theme that has emerged in recent research on teacher education is that, active learning strategies allow students to highly self-regulate their learning and are positively associated with student teachers’ development of professional competences (Päivi Virtanen et al., 2017). Nevertheless, some longitudinal research indicates that, student teachers may become more passive in their regulation over time, highlighting the need for specific interventions introduced in the teacher preparation process to foster the development of learner dispositions and SRL skills (Endedijk, et al., 2010 cited in Dramanu, 2022). Student teachers’ self-regulated learning (SRL) differs between theoretical and practical settings, with active regulation being more prevalent in practice schools, while passive regulation is more common in colleges and universities (Endedijk et al., 2012 cited in Dramanu, 2022). Hence, as previously noted, the implementation of learning strategies and goal-directed teaching is generally perceived as useful by students, though teacher educators must adapt these teaching strategies or approaches to students’ developmental levels (Postholm, et al., 2011 cited in Dramanu,2022). These findings propose that teacher education programs should concentrate on developing student teachers’ SRL skills and conceptions to support their ongoing professional development, potentially reconceptualizing SRL for the specific context of learning to teach (Endedijk, et al., 2010 cited in Dramanu,2022) . As suggested by Reeves in Ventura & Ventura, (2022), effective instructional strategies in teaching are much more likely to improve the efficacy of both teacher educators and the students than just introducing educational programmes.

Research on teacher education highlights that active learning strategies enhance student teachers’ self-regulation and professional competence (Virtanen et al., 2017). However, longitudinal studies suggest that student teachers may become more passive in their self-regulation over time, emphasizing the need for interventions during teacher preparation (Endedijk et al., 2010, cited in Dramanu, 2022). The regulation of student teachers’ learning varies across contexts, with active regulation more common in practice schools and passive regulation at universities (Endedijk et al., 2012, cited in Dramanu, 2022). Effective instructional strategies, rather than just educational programs, are crucial for improving teaching efficacy (Ventura & Ventura, 2022).

This study focuses on DALICE teacher education programs examining whether teaching strategies used promote self-regulated learning and discourage deviant attitudes toward learner dispositions. Dramanu (2022) explored student teachers’ learning regulation in a dual learning program (theory-based university education and practice-based school learning), finding that active regulation dominated practical settings while passive regulation prevailed in universities. The study identified the need for interventions that encourage reflection and active learning strategies, emphasizing that single learning experiences are insufficient for assessing self-regulation comprehensively.

The findings suggest that teacher educators must design targeted interventions to address passive regulation at universities. Longitudinal data on transformative learning indicates that self-regulation evolves over time, requiring continuous assessment rather than one-time evaluations. The study also emphasizes the importance of reflective practices in self-regulation, alongside planning and goal-setting.

In the broader African context teacher education requires urgent reform, with new learner-centered curricula demanding pedagogical shifts (Stutchbury et al., 2023). However, teacher educators often resist change, continuing to use traditional lecture methods (Moon & Umar, 2013; Stutchbury, 2019). The lack of dynamic field placements for preservice teachers further weakens teacher preparation (Plotner et al., 2023). Research in Kenya and other African countries highlight a disconnect between promoted pedagogies and actual teaching practices with resistance among educators to adopting active learning approaches (O’Sullivan, 2010, cited in Stutchbury, 2019).

To address these issues teacher education programs must integrate active pedagogies promote self-regulated learning and bridge the gap between theoretical training and practical application. Effective teacher preparation should balance knowledge, skills and teaching dispositions to develop competent educators capable of fostering active learning environments.

Theoretical Framework

Willingham’s cognitive theory, in this study of student teachers’ lived experiences of deviant behaviours to learner dispositions and self-regulated teaching and learning. Student teacher preparation like any other teaching and learning process is faced with different failures associated with students being disinterested in the learning process. Willingham’s cognitive theory of the human mind has been introduced in this study, to help understand what DALICE students said were their lived experiences of teaching and learning dispositions. points to the fact that, most of all the theoretical frameworks have been used to understand why students tolerate school or are mildly positive of self-regulated learning. The notion that students tolerate school and show apathy to learning have been pointed out and supported by many studies including an Australian study (Ainley, Batten, Cherry and Withers, 1998 cited in Hattie, 2014).

Firstly, this study looked for explanations of DALICE student teachers’ experiences of learner dispositions and self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions. Self-regulated learning situations here are those teaching and learning situations where DALICE students deviated, regardless of how important these learning aspects were to their teacher preparation. Secondly, the framework has been used to understand what teacher educators at DALICE said about student teacher preparation, what these teacher educators said were their experiences. Further, Willingham’s theory helped to understand how student teachers at DALICE responded to teaching and learning situations. As agreed, and suggested by Geving, 2007, Tsouloupas, Carson, Mathews, Grawitch, and Barber, 2010 cited in Hattie, (2023) students generally have apathy to teaching and learning situations and this creates stress  for teachers. Hence the framework has been used in this study to create a basis for understanding and interpreting the nuances DALICE student teachers’ and also DALICE teacher educators’ experiences of learning and teaching at student teacher preparation.

According to Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory, “a high level of disappointment arises when people lack belief that a valued target can be achieved, which can lead to self-belittlement and even depression. A target can be described as the aim or goal of an event, such as achieving a certain level of skill within a certain amount of time (Locke & Latham, 2002). People automatically use their related prior knowledge and skills when pursuing new goals and objectives, according to goal-setting theory research. People tend to use experience they have used in the past for similar targets if they don’t have any applicable skills and information related to this particular objective in hand. If a new target is given to people who have never done something like This study utilized the Situated Expectancy – Value theory by (Eccles and Wigfield, 2020 cited by Beymer, Benden and Sachisthal, 2022). Eccles &Wigfield’s situated expectancy value theory have been applied to this proposed study, to explain how individuals’ expectancies for success and subjective task values (sentence incomplete) (Klein & Bergersen, 2022). The situated expectancy value theory will assist in the examination of student teachers’ psychological determinants for task and activity choice, performance and engagement in those activities (Eccles and Wigfield, 2020).Further, the theory will be used to help to understand the cultural phenomenon, why most DALICE student teachers may choose to deviate from learning dispositions and self-regulate learning. As further noted by (Eccles and Wigfield (2020), cited by Klein and Bergersen (2022), an individuals’ choice of situations is limited by their prior experience, the cultural values, norms and characteristics that surround them as they mature and move through time and space ( Eccles & Wigfield,2020).

The theory informed this study by assisting in the exploration of DALICE student teachers’ lived experiences of situational specifics which persuade students to deviate from ideal learning dispositions and self-regulated learning experiences. Additionally, this proposed study will apply the situated expectancy -value theory to explore the intrinsic values held by DALICE student teachers who could be influenced by their prior experience, cultural values and situational occurrences happening to them during their teacher training. Lastly, the theory will be used in this proposed study to explain the utility value or usefulness of students desiring to embrace learning dispositions and self-regulated during their training. As noted by Klein &Bergersen (2022), the utility value theory explains why individuals may decide to embrace or avoid certain activities bases on how useful an activity is to an individual’s present and future plans.

METHODOLOGY

This study utilized the hermeneutic phenomenological approach in-order to explore the constructivist nature of knowledge. Hence the utilization of the hermeneutic approach in this research helped in exploring what DALICE student teachers constructed and interpreted as their lived experiences of deviance to learning dispositions and self-regulated learning. Further, the approach was used as a basis of understating the deviant behaviours DALICE student teachers embraced as opposed to utilizing learning dispositions that could have supported self-regulated learning and which were very important to their teacher education. This research aimed to explore the significance respondents attributed to deviant behaviors throughout their teacher preparation journey at DALICE. The approach also helped to understand what teacher educators said prompted students to embrace deviance instead of compliance to learning dispositions.

Defining constructed realities, (Crotty, 1998 cited in Nigar, 2019) presented constructed realities as views about experiences and interpretations individuals may have about past, present and imagined phenomena. An ancillary   reason this study employed the Hermeneutic phenomenological approach was to enable the study to explore the interpretations of students’ lived phenomenon of learning dispositions and self-regulated teaching. In terms of the philosophical underpinnings, firstly, this study was underpinned by the interpretivist ontological assumption which holds that people interpret their own reality and that multiple mental interpretations exist to any given situation or phenomenon (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000). Secondly, the basis for applying the interpretivist ontological assumption in this study was to gain insight of DALICE student teachers’ perceptions self- regulated teaching and learning dispositions, their interpretation of teacher dispositions and how teacher dispositions were experienced during their teacher training and teacher practice. The philosophical assumptions also laid a basis for the understanding of the student teachers’ deviate behaviours to learning dispositions and self-regulated learning.

Case study research design 

This study employed a case study research design, as it allows for an in-depth and detailed examination of a social unit, such as an organization, community, individual, event, program, or policy (Stake, 2005; Creswell, 2007; Yin, 2012, 2014). Specifically, the research aimed to explore the lived experiences of student teachers concerning their deviant behaviors in relation to self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions, which were crucial to their teacher training at David Livingstone College of Education in Zambia. A case study approach is particularly valuable for addressing descriptive questions like “What is happening or has happened?” or explanatory inquiries such as “How or why did something occur?” (Yin, 2012, p. 5).

Sample Size

When determining the number of participants to include in the sample, this study considered several factors outlined by Morse (2000). These factors encompassed the study’s scope, the quality of data to be collected, and the overall research design. This study employed purposive sampling to select 20 participants from David Livingstone College of Education (DALICE), including 15 student teachers and five (5) teacher educators. Eligibility for student teacher respondents required at least two years of teacher preparation at DALICE and participation in a teaching practicum. Selection was based on assessment scores, identifying high and low achievers from both second-year and third-year cohorts. Seven (7) second-year student teachers (3 female, 4 male) and eight (8) third-year student teachers (5 female, 3 male) were selected.

Teacher educator participants were required to have a minimum of five years of lecturing experience. Five (5) lecturers (1 female, 4 male) were identified from confidential staff lists. These experts were assumed to have substantial knowledge of teaching competencies and the impact of deviant behaviors on teacher preparation. This approach was chosen because the researcher aimed to explore, understand, and gain deeper insights into the phenomenon under investigation. However, it is important to note that in qualitative research, the emphasis is placed more on the criteria used for selecting the sample rather than the number of participants (Creswell, 2012).

Sampling procedure 

The purposive sampling technique was utilized, as it allowed the researchers to select participants who could provide diverse and in-depth insights into the phenomenon under study.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

The criteria used for selecting participants in this study included:

i. The study sample consisted of student teachers and teacher educators from David Livingstone College of Education (DALICE). Selection criteria included students’ academic performance, lived experiences, and cohort classification (second-year and third-year students). Teacher educators were selected based on their minimum five years of lecturing experience ensuring expert insights into teaching and learning competencies.

ii. Student teachers and teacher educators interested to be part of the study.

Data Generation Procedure  

A triangulated approach was employed to collect data using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The interviews were conducted at the participants’ workplaces to provide them with a sense of empowerment and control over the research process. All interviews were carried out in English and lasted approximately 60 minutes, aligning with the recommended 90-minute duration for qualitative interviews (Seidman, 2006). Two methods were used for recording the interviews: first, the researcher simultaneously acted as both interviewer and recorder by noting responses in a field notebook; second, with the participants’ consent, a voice recorder was used to capture the interviews.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The findings of this study indicates that although student teachers recognized that, self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions enhanced instructional effectiveness and promoted positive student outcomes, however, they did not embrace these positive depositions which could have enhanced their training success. Student teachers at DALICE did not treat self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions as a crucial aspect of their professional growth and which could have positively influenced their ability to engage in meaningful learning experiences. Further, student teachers reported employing various strategies which did not help them to self-regulate Participants also mentioned that, during their training at DALICE, they encountered the following learning challenges: some lecturers gave them assessment activities without providing clear instructions; some of the tasks given during their training did not offer them the opportunities for reflection and self-assessment, and promoting independent thinking and problem-solving skills (Smith’s, 2010). These findings highlighted the deviant behaviours; students exhibited during their teacher preparation. Further, there was no positive impact of self-regulated teaching and learning on both the student teachers’ instructional practices. Additionally, the study provided valuable insights into the perceptions and experiences of teacher educators, relating to teacher mindframes. The findings also indicated that although teacher educators claimed to have more years of experience training teachers at DALICE, they had less understanding of what teacher mindframes were.

In the first interview involving six respondents (FG-01, 2 July, 2020), one participant mentioned her lived experiences of self-regulated dispositions to mean activities like;

Locating books in the library and following the college schedule and making sure that time was well managed. (Thrd. Yr. St.Tr.02. FG.01).

During the same interview discussion, another discussant had a different view about what his lived experiences of self-regulated learning were. In the views of this discussant, his lived experiences of self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions were activities like,

collaborating with other student teachers on how to write assignments, using free    periods to consult lectures and taking class notes during every lecturing period.

(Thrd. Yr. St.Tr.06.)

Another theme about students lived experiences emerged during the first focus group and it was about delays in completing assignments because it was difficult locating information from library books.

It took me time to change my mind to start getting information for my assignments from the library books. I still have trouble locating information from text books and even when am in third, I still do not find it easy to locate information from books.

(Thrd. Yr. St Tr. 04. FG.02)

In a second interview discussion (Focus group -02, 3July 2020), one third year student teacher said that he struggled with assignment tasks, copied everything he heard during every lecture hour. The student further added,

‘‘I spent most of my time memorizing things I used to write to avoid failing and it proved to work for me.

(Thrd. Yr. St. Tr.06)

Further, responding to a follow-up question on whether student teachers understood what teaching and learning dispositions was a second-year respondent by stating that, she cited collaborating with other student teachers on working on assignments and other related class activities. However, in some instances when she was behind schedule, she mentioned engaging in behaviours of avoiding class in-order to spend time writing assignments that could have already been due for submission. When further probed on what caused her to delay submitting her work each time, the respondent simply said the following:

‘‘I do not know Sir, but since I came into college, I found assignment writing to be more challenging and I never got familiar with due dates I can simply say in most instances, I used to get nervous when given assignment tasks because I did not know how best lecturers wanted the tasks to be presented.

(Sec. Yr.St.Tr.08. FG.02. 4 June, 2020):

In the words of one third year student teacher, and others who took part in the second focus group discussion, students developed ways of getting round the due dates on the tasks they were give and this was how:

I managed to ease the pressure of submitting my tasks through the slogan adopted by many students, the power of the due date whereby we waited for other students to write their work and we would buy from them the points they wrote and all we did was to re-arrange sentences and submitted our work. (Thrd. Yr. St. Tr.07)

Similarly, in focus group 3, a respondent said that in most instances, they completed their work in good time because they wished to make some money out of other students who were in the habit of buying already written assignments.  A respondent had this to say about the selling of already written assignments,

I punished myself by completing my tasks on good time because I knew other students were going to look for it and I could charge them a fee for reduplicating my work (Thrd. Yr. St. Tr.12).

Given the understanding that, respondents had discussed in detail what their understanding was of self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions, the following themes came from the second question participants were asked.

One respondent found the potential of self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions such as time management, spending time in study groups to be of great importance.

When I spent enough time reading books from the library and also consulted with other students and collaborated in looking for points for tasks we needed to do, I concluded that my performance was improving than when I just copied from friends. (St.03. FG.01.2 July, 2020)

Respondents thought, they developed approaches of copying assignments from colleagues when they were in their second year of teacher training. However, some of the respondents admitted that copying already written assignments from other students, did not helping them to score higher marks. Respondents also mentioned that, copied work and late submission of assignments usually landed them in constant confrontations with lectures.

When asked to express his views on the potential of self-regulated dispositions on student training, a second-year student teacher expressed these views about his self -regulated learning,

I developed this desire to study and also memorized what I was being taught and by collaborating with other students through peer teaching, I improved my grades and other academic related tasks. (St.07. FG.01. 2 July, 2020)

Another discussant, a third-year student teacher realised that, copying his work from other students was not helpful at all, as this made him to remain ignorant of how to cite sources of information in assignments. The respondent also mentioned that, he did not even know how to come up with references for his assignments.

Since I was buying my assignments from other students, I actually became nervous especially when a lecturer announced that we were going to have a test. Later I realised that I needed to be doing my own work especially that other students could no longer offer their work at a fee. With enough effort and change of mind set, I can say, studying, reading books and getting information on the internet and peer teaching, all these were important in my life as a student at DALICE. For students who were not serious and kept on behaving as I used to be, am sure they have not been so successful in their training. (St.Tr.07. 2 July, 2020).

This student teacher and others seem to agree that self -regulated dispositions such as getting involved in activities like peer teaching, working on assignments in a collaborative manner with other students, planning ones work in good time, all these as self-regulated dispositions had much potential to the success of every student teacher. Other respondents stated that, ‘‘to develop the skill of writing, it was better to write the assignment in advance and leave a few days for asking senior students to proof read and render corrections to what I had not written. To me was so important and it helped me quite a lot in my student training.

(Sec.Yr, St. Tr. 12. FG.02.)

The development of self- esteem was one self-regulated disposition which emerged as a theme which students thought helped them in their training. Self-esteem was one disposition that students said without it, their training would have been lacking in adequacy.

Hence self-esteem gave me the desire to ask when I needed to ask than to copy from other students. Self-esteem taught me to endure in my training, even though from the beginning of my training I did not know how to write assignments, was poor at time keeping, but later I gained this belief about myself that I could do better and that was when I started performing well. So yes, these self-regulated dispositions had the potential in the success of my training. (FG.04. St. 18.  4 July, 2020)

Student and others acknowledged that consultation with other students improved their study habits. Instead of solely relying on internet sources, other information sources such as, reading books, strengthening group discussions, helped them to improve their answering of assignments.  Respondents also stated that, they allocated more time for gathering points for tasks given, which most of the discussants referred to as prior preparation. Respondents considered all these self-initiated activities to have made the potential difference in the success of their teacher training.

Participants responded to the question of what they could have done differently by suggesting that, had they changed their way of writing assessments, their study habits, collaborative  working, their teacher preparation could have been much more successful. Other respondents actually thought nothing much could have changed as long as they were not personally known by individual lecturers, suggesting that regardless of ones’ involvement in self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions, having personal familiarity with lecturers also mattered in determining whether students self-regulated their learning.

Things that I think could have been done better are many but I will talk about those which I should have worked hard to improve. To be precise, I used to summarise my work so much because I never used to use consult books for my answers. I could not extend my time to studying other sources of information, in this way, I restricted myself from further knowledge and this was my challenge when I reflect now.

(FG.06. Thrd.Yr.St.01. 08 December, 2020)

Another respondent reflected on his lived experiences from first year through to third year and had this to say about what could have been done in a better way.

I had a laissez-faire kind of approach to most of the tasks I was given and mostly I depended on the efforts of my friends. If I only I had apportioned my time very well, I should have excelled on my own. (FG.06. Thrd. Yr. St.04)

Other participants thought other than what they could have done to improve their training; they also found that some things were difficult to change in as much as they wanted to.

Responds thought, adhering to the course outlines for different courses could have changed their training for the better. One respond thought establishing personal interaction with lecturers could have helped improve their training.  Being known by lecturers according to these students mattered a lot because lecturers to some extent marked our work depending on whom they knew.

Lecturers did not know me by name and this affected my performance. I should have tried to establish some friendships with some of the lecturers and this could have affected my training in a positive way. So, this is one thing I think could have improved my training. (FG.06. St.05. 8 December, 2020)

The misuse of time came out frequently in the discussion as many of the respondents thought they did not utilize their time so well while in training.

Programing and prioritisation were my challenge during my teacher training. I did not know how to program my time in college. Much of my time was wasted on things on things that were not academic at all. (FG.06. Thrd. Yr. St.03)

Students complained they could have done better had lecturers improved on giving prompt feedback on activities that were submitted earlier.

Feedback was delayed starting from when we were in year one, year two and even in the third year unfortunately. It was difficult to learn from our mistakes but had feedback been given in good time, many of us could have done better in commitment and focus to our work. (FG.06. Thrd. Yr.St.05)

The themes which emerged from this focus discussion were that, if the respondents had known how to use resource materials from books and not being restrictive in the use of reference materials, there teacher training would have been said to be successful.

Further, some of the respondents thought their training could have been much better had lecturers reduced the load of work on students. Some of the respondents actually said that, had they managed to create some familiarity with lecturers, there performance could have been better. Other attitudes which respondents said they could have avoided were, doing away with laissez-faire attitudes, participating in peer teaching groups, if all these could have been done differently, probably student training could have been much more successful.

Expert lecturers ideally expect student teachers to portray positive dispositions to any task they were given because these were key to their training. However, when asked to discuss what they perceived of DALICE student teachers’ lived experiences to self-regulated teacher dispositions, the respondents deeply expressed the following views;

When asked about what his views were about DALICE second year student teachers and third year student teachers’ lived experiences to self-regulated dispositions, this is what the respondent said,

I am convinced that the crop of students we have now in college are not innovative and lack the application of their learning to practice. Most of these students cannot manage to go beyond what a lecturer has taught them. I expect students to extend knowledge by going beyond what has been prescribed but this crop of students cannot do that. Since these students have detached themselves from books and attached themselves to the internet, they lack the ability read extensively.

(S-. S Intv.01. Pt. 01.)

Through further probing, this respondent added that, the quality of work submitted by most of the students lacked evidence of analytical skills and, in most instances, much of the work students submitted was highly plagiarized. (S-S. Intv.01. Pt.01)

Another respondent thought most of the student teachers in the second-year classes and students in the third-year classes did not show positive teacher dispositions in their training because they lacked an inner drive at least in most of them. Laziness emerged as one theme that indicated to the researcher that this expert lecturer regarded an academically lazy student to lack self-regulated teacher dispositions.

In the views of this respondent, most of these students cannot think outside the box, they cannot simply project beyond where you have ended as a lecturer. Copying among these students, lack of submission of tasks given to them or even submitting these tasks at the late hour, all these are clear indications that our students are not well disposed to self -regulated teaching and learning dispositions.

(S-S. Intv. 01. Pt.02)

Other views about student teachers’ lived experiences were explained by one respondent who said most of the student teachers considered in this study did not show independence of thought when handling tasks. To this respondent, student teachers lacked self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions when there was an absence of creativity and innovativeness in their work.

In his own words, ‘‘these students are not self-starters’’ they cannot bring in new ideas or analyze statements not can they critique issues. Most of the students cannot be specific in handling questions, I want my students to answer why questions

(S-S. Intv.01. Pt.03)

Another respondent viewed the DALICE second year student teachers and third year student teachers not to have developed higher order thinking. In the views of this respondent, not being able to approach tasks with no mapping of ideas was an indication that most student teachers did not utilize their self-regulated teacher dispositions.

Ideally, students should have been critical in their thinking but instead most of them students could not relate one concept to another. Most work presented in their assignments is book lifted information. Students just copy the information just like it is presented in the books. Two thirds of the students could however meet the targets for their tasks but the remaining rest of the students were full of excuses, and I can just describe them to be lazy students nothing else.

(S-S. Intv.01. Pt.04)

Other issues emerging from the researcher’s’ further engagement with respondents yielded the following themes that gave enough insight to what expert lectures perceived of student teachers lived experiences of self-regulated teacher dispositions.  Student teachers’ inability to develop open mindedness was a sign that most DALICE student teachers lacked positive teacher dispositions during their teacher training. A respondent among many things said the following;

inadequacies in meeting set standards was an indication that most of the student teachers considered in this study lacked positive self-regulated teacher dispositions. Most of the teachers could not analyze issues critically during lessons. In occasions when student tasks were assigned, students failed to utilize their time to prepare well written tasks. Sometimes these students respond with rudeness. (S-S. Intv.01. Pt.05)

Another theme that was resonated with one of the respondents was that most of the students did not attach originality to their work because students were interested in the final scores and not the process studying for what they wrote. Lack of originality in their work was a serious indication that students did not show any deliberate inclusion of self -regulated teacher dispositions to their thought processes.

Student teachers have no willingness to respect due dates and if a lecturer did not threaten retribution for late submission of tasks, most of the students would not even submit a single task for their assessment. This is the attitude a good number of students had unfortunately as one respondent lamented talking about third year students who were even at the point of completing their teacher training. (S-S. Intv. Pt.06).

If student teachers deviated from the teacher preparation plans teacher educators put in place, then it is obvious that, most student teachers at DALICE did not receive full preparation for the actual teaching job.

The quality of teacher preparation was compromised because most students were not self -motivated and if trainee teachers go through the process of training with such attitudes as some of them portrayed during training, then most of the student teachers will not be innovative when it shall come to actual handling of their classes in real teaching.

One respondent further commented that, it was difficult to work with students whose focus was more on completing teacher training without attaching much interest to the process that goes in teacher preparation. I doubt if most of these teachers cannot confidently stand before a challenging class of learners nor do I think they can highly motivate a class of young learners. (S-S.Intv.Pt.02)

Additional comments from other respondents regarding students who lacked self- regulated skills were that, if the students were not innovative during the process of training, then teacher training was compromised to some extent. The impact of deviant behaviors on self-regulated teaching and learning highly caused cognitive disruption in the student teachers. Deviant behaviors in classrooms can trigger stress, frustration, or anxiety in student teachers, undermining their ability to maintain focus and apply self-regulation strategies. The presence of disruptive behaviors may have hinder student teachers’ capacity to implement self-regulated learning techniques, such as setting personal goals, time management, and self-monitoring. Deviate behaviours could have made some student teachers to develop adaptive strategies to cope with challenges, such as seeking peer support, using reflective practices, or adopting more flexible teaching approaches.

The analysis of students’ deviant behaviors to learning dispositions and self-regulated learning can be linked to broader theories of self-regulated learning explained in Zimmerman’s Self-Regulation Model: This model, which includes forethought, performance and self-reflection phases, could be used to understand how deviant behaviors disrupt these phases and what strategies student teachers employ to regain control.

SRL theory attends to the development of three learning processes: metacognition, motivation, and strategic action (Winne & Perry, 2000; Zimmerman, 2008). Metacognitive learners are aware of their personal learning strengths and challenges. They have knowledge of learning strategies and are attuned to others’ needs and interests. Motivated learners are willing to attempt challenging tasks. They are persistent and believe that, with effort, they will succeed within learning tasks. Finally, strategic learners have large repertoires of learning strategies. They are adaptive and flexible in their use of strategies and able to adjust strategies to meet the needs of various tasks.

Most models of SRL describe cyclical processes learners use to guide their thoughts and actions before, during, and after engaging in learning tasks (See: Butler & Cartier, 2004; Winne & Hadwin, 1998; Zimmerman, 2002). Zimmerman’s SRL model identifies three phases of SRL: the forethought phase, during which learners set goals for themselves, assess their motivation and abilities to complete the tasks, and make plans for engaging in the task; the performance phase, when learners focus their attention, engage in tasks, develop and apply strategies, and monitor their progress, and the self-reflection phase, when learners reflect upon the task and their performance through self-evaluation. Butler and Cartier’s (2018) model of SRL includes a sociocultural lens that links historical, cultural, social, and community contexts to it. While differing in scope, all SRL models emphasize the importance of iterative cycles of planning (forethought), enacting, reflecting, and adjusting thoughts and actions to achieve learning goals.

Aligned with Vygotskian theory (1978), self-regulation encompasses personal and social forms of learning. The cognitive and metacognitive processes of self-regulation are modeled and internalized through social interactions; this co-regulation with others fosters SRL in learners (McCaslin, 2009). Socially shared regulation expands upon the notion of co-regulation, referring to the regulation of common learning objectives shared within groups to achieve agreed upon goals (Hadwin et al., 2018).

Within groups (e.g., classroom settings), individuals engage in self-, co-, shared, and socially responsible forms of regulation. Individuals plan, monitor, and evaluate their contributions to the group (i.e., self-regulation), while members within the group provide modelling of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, as well as motivational support (i.e., co-regulation; Hadwin et al., 2018; Hutchinson, 2013). Together the group might plan, implement, and evaluate their collective actions (i.e., socially-shared regulation). It is within this collaboration that socially responsible self-regulation is fostered.

The quality of teacher training should have concentrated more on field trips because through the field trips, student teachers were going to be exposed more to practical situations about teaching. This respondent further added that the quality of teacher training could have improved if team teaching was promoted in departments and across all departments.

We could have done better through team teaching by reorienting students’ teachers in theory aspects during their first year in college and introduce practical tasks in the second year of teacher training. The third year could have been left for equipping students with administrative skills and this was how teacher training could have been organised. (S-S.Intv.Pt.01)

Innovativeness was also lacking in the training process. Teacher training could have been more interactive unlike the common approach of using the lecture method all the time and this could have students being more passive than active.

To improve teacher training, the training process should have emphasized on the use of local resources for developing instructions for teacher training. Had this approach been, most student teachers would have adopted these skills and graduated as independent thinkers, with more practical experience.

Another respond thought that teacher training should have contracted on teaching basic ideas of situational analysis, asking students to reconceptualize ideas and this is what would have promoted logical thinking in the students. Interaction between lectures and students was not well developed and I feel that had there been a strong relationship between students and lecturers, more student teachers could have been consulting us for how to on certain given tasks but this was not the case. (S-S. Intv-06. Pt.05)

The process of teaching practice should be strengthened as students at least improved in some teaching skills and this was because they came into real life situations during student practice. Student training should not have over emphasized lecturers meeting the course outline, instead other basic skills such as time keeping, submitting tasks at the set due dates, these basics should have been emphasized and formed a strong part of teacher training.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion the lived experiences of student teachers at DALICE regarding their self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions. The discussion has highlighted various themes, including effective time management, collaborative efforts, and challenges with resource utilization, coping mechanisms, and strategic responses to academic pressures. The influence of lecturer personalities on students’ approaches to tasks was acknowledged, emphasizing the multifaceted interplay of individual strategies, external demands, and educational environments.

DALICE student teachers recognize the substantial potential of self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions in enhancing their training success. Key themes that emerged included the importance of time management, collaborative efforts, a shift in mentality towards assignment writing, self-driven study habits, peer teaching, effective planning, and the cultivation of self-esteem. These findings align with established research on self-regulated learning, emphasizing metacognition, time management, and collaborative strategies in academic achievement.

However, student teachers also reflected on areas where improvements could be made in their self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions. Suggestions included changes in study habits, consulting more diverse sources, better time management, and personalized recognition by lecturers, more structured feedback, reduced workloads, and increased engagement in collaborative learning. These reflections align with existing literature on the significance of effective time management, diversified resource utilization, and constructive feedback in optimizing educational outcomes.

Expert lecturers provided valuable perspectives on student teachers’ self-regulated learning and teaching dispositions. Concerns were raised about students’ levels of innovation, application of learning to practice, over-reliance on the internet, plagiarism, lack of evidence of analytical skills, laziness, lack of independence of thought, and deficiencies in creativity and innovativeness. The lecturers proposed strategies to strengthen student teachers’ experiences, including innovative teaching methods, field trips, team teaching, and a structured approach to teacher training.

Moreover, the document analysis of student teachers’ work supported concerns raised by both student and expert teachers, indicating issues of originality, citation accuracy, currency of sources, and grammatical proficiency. These findings emphasize the need for improvement in self-regulated teacher dispositions among student teachers.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings, several recommendations can be made to enhance the self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions of student teachers at DALICE.

1. Educational institutions should provide enhanced support structures, including personalized feedback, reduced workloads, and opportunities for collaborative learning, to improve students’ self-regulated dispositions.
2. Teacher training programs should incorporate innovative teaching methods, practical experiences, and opportunities for interactive learning to foster the application of self-regulated teaching dispositions.
3. Design assessments that focus on practical skills, critical thinking, and analytical abilities to better evaluate students’ self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions.
4. Provide ongoing professional development opportunities for lecturers to enhance their understanding of fostering self-regulated dispositions among student teachers.
5. Emphasize the importance of originality, accurate citations, and currency of sources in student assignments to discourage plagiarism and promote independent thinking.

Addressing these areas, researchers can contribute to the ongoing discourse on self-regulated teaching and learning dispositions, providing valuable insights for educational institutions and policymakers to enhance teacher training programs.

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