You are cordially invited to the online research seminar organized by the Department of Educational Sciences.<\/p>\n
Title: What Makes Practicum Meaningful? Preservice and Early-Career Teachers\u2019 Experiences of Motivation, Participation, and Responsibility in an Extended University-School Partnership Model<\/p>\n
Speaker: Servet Altan, Ph.D. (MEF University)
\nDate: Nov 6, 2026
\nTime: 16:30-17:30
\nLocation: G-160<\/p>\n
Abstract:
\nWhat makes extended practicum genuinely meaningful for future teachers? This presentation examines how motivation, professional participation, and responsibility are experienced across an extended university-school partnership model. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, the study explores the experiences of 17 pre-service and early-career teachers positioned at three points along the practicum-to-profession continuum: Year 3 practicum, Year 4 practicum, and early-career teaching. Codebook thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed distinct stage-positioned patterns. Year 3 participants emphasised recognised participation and opportunities to make meaningful contributions; Year 4 participants described greater, though still conditional, access to professional judgment and responsibility; and early-career teachers retrospectively valued practicum as preparation for professional life while recognising the intensified accountability of full-time teaching. Across these positions, autonomy was supported through consequential professional judgment, competence through visible evidence of effectiveness, and relatedness through professional inclusion and recognition. The findings suggest that meaningful practicum is shaped less by the amount of time spent in schools than by the quality of participation afforded to candidates. Extended practicum is most educationally powerful when responsibility increases progressively and is accompanied by mentoring, constructive feedback, professional recognition, and opportunities to experience the consequences of one\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n
Bio:
\nServet Altan, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at MEF University, where he also coordinates the International Baccalaureate Educator Certificate (IBEC) programme in Teaching and Learning in the Primary Years Programme (PYP). He holds an M.A. in Teacher Education and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Bilkent University. His academic and professional development has included work at Iowa State University and participation in international programmes at Indiana University and Harvard University\u2019s Project Zero. His research examines student motivation and engagement, habits of mind, inclusive and teaching and learning in international and International Baccalaureate contexts. Since 2016, he has served as an IBEN PYP Lead Educator, facilitating professional learning for educators in national and international settings. His scholarship has appeared in leading journals including Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Educational Psychology, Learning and Instruction, Teaching and Teacher Education, and Journal of Research in International Education. He is also co-editor and contributing author of Mindfulness and Thoughtfulness: Leading and Teaching with Habits of Mind in Research and Practice (2023).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You are cordially invited to the online research seminar organized by the Department of Educational Sciences. Title: What Makes Practicum Meaningful? Preservice and Early-Career Teachers\u2019 Experiences of Motivation, Participation, and Responsibility in an Extended University-School Partnership Model Speaker: Servet Altan, Ph.D. (MEF University) Date: Nov 6, 2026 Time: 16:30-17:30 Location: [\u2026] <\/p>\n