Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students’ experience of reflective practice as part of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) within two higher education institutions

Abstract

Universities preparing students for the teaching profession are often blamed for not sufficiently equipping them for classroom realities. This study explored PGCE students' experiences of reflective practice during Work Integrated Learning within two Western Cape Higher Education Institutions, addressing how these practices can improve teaching quality and programme effectiveness. This dual-site case study used an interpretivist approach. Two Higher Education Institutions served as macro cases, with their PGCE programmes as meso-cases. Units of analysis were students, WIL lecturers, method lecturers, supervisors, and school-based mentor teachers. Shulman's Pedagogical Reasoning and Action Model and Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, and capital framed the analysis. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, and programme documents, analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic Analysis. Findings revealed that reflective practice existed primarily as something spoken about rather than systematically developed. Students associated reflection narrowly with journaling, treating it as assessment compliance rather than professional learning. The disconnect between university preparation and school realities created what students described as 'a battlefield', leaving them physically and emotionally drained. Students encountered discipline issues, administrative tasks, and time pressures for which they felt unprepared. Despite structural constraints, students demonstrated considerable agency through spontaneous strategies: reflection in transit whilst driving, instinctive reflection during lessons, and reflective rehearsal through mock-classes with family members. The compressed one-year timeframe emerged as the most fundamental constraint, with teaching practice occurring late in the academic year, limiting opportunities for repeated reflection and improvement. The study identified four critical missed opportunities for bridging theory and practice: underutilised triadic relationships wherein students preferred accessible mentor teachers over evaluative university supervisors, disconnected microteaching operating separately from teaching practice, individual-dominated rather than collaborative reflection, and journals functioning as assessment artefacts rather than pedagogical tools. Recommendations include extending PGCE programmes to 18-24 months, establishing systematic microteaching with technology integration, developing scaffolded reflective curricula, strengthening triadic relationships through joint conversations, and revising MRTEQ requirements. The study shows that reflective practice must be woven throughout teacher education rather than taught as isolated competency.