Teaching Practicums at the Postgraduate Level: Problems, Solutions, and Recommendations

In any educational study program, teaching practicums are necessary to be implemented. It often serves as an apprenticeship to give pre-service teachers practical experience regarding the real world of teaching. It is commonly implemented at the undergraduate level. At the postgraduate level, however, this implementation remains controversial. This study was conducted to reveal postgraduate students’ problems and solutions during their teaching practicums. Besides that, this study also aimed to examine and give critical insights into the implementation of teaching practicums at the postgraduate level for educational study program students. Data was retrieved from open-ended questionnaires to 8 postgraduate students about their problems and solutions in doing their teaching practicums. Data was also taken from 7 other respondents. They were practitioners like lecturers, teachers, and alumni from educational departments. The findings revealed that in doing their teaching practicums, the master’s degree students dealt with various problems similar to those faced by their undergraduate counterparts. Another finding disclosed the practitioners’ opinions that for the postgraduate level, the focus of teaching practicums can be altered and implemented in a form other than teaching. It can be research, curriculum development, language teaching technology development, and material development. At the postgraduate level, students are expected to focus on research, not just the practice of teaching.