Cooperative Education in Teacher Education

The teaching practicum represents the cooperative education (co-op) component of teacher education and its place in the preservice training of teachers is well established. Although there may be individuals amongst the audience for this chapter who do not consider the teaching practicum as work, as it is generally unpaid, it still meets the criteria for co-op presented in the definitions in chapter 2 by Groenewald, insofar as it involves, for example, an educational strategy that integrates teaching and progressive work experiences. With the introduction of compulsory education came a commitment by governments around the world to resource teaching. As the cost of education gradually increased over the years, governments developed processes for assessing the quality of education and those charged with providing it; such processes have now become more formalized and systematic in nature. This strong external scrutiny makes teacher training and the practicum different in important respects to other forms of co-op.