The analysis of reality shock: pre-service teachers experiencing practicum in preschools

Introduction: Reality shock is a frequent topic in teacher research. This research topic focuses on analysing the reality shock experienced by beginning teachers, and seeking its antecedents and consequences. Relatively fewer studies are devoted to the reality shock experienced by pre-service teachers during their first encounter with the school environment. This study is focused on university students of preschool education and seeks answers to the questions: How do these students perceive reality shock during practicum? What are its causes? How can these causes be reduced or eliminated? Methods: The sample consists of 23 third year preschool education students at a university in the Moravian part of the Czech Republic.The students undertook practicum at the faculty preschool. This preschool was established as a company and serves the purposes of student training as well as education and care of children. The following research methods were used: (1) Students' diaries written during their 4-week long full-day practicum in the last year of their bachelor's programme, (2) questionnaire. Results: The study describes the perception of the students' reality shock and analyses the circumstances that cause this phenomenon. It appears that the key reasons for the reality shock are misunderstanding of the preschool educational concepts, unclear preschool rules, and the interference of parents into the education and care of children attending the preschool. Limitations: As is the case with any qualitative study, this study is limited by its range. It is a case study of only one group of last year students in one study programme. The results of the study cannot be generalised, but they may inspire follow-up studies. Furthermore, the results may influence the pre-service programme to pay more attention to preparing students for the reality of preschools.