Perceptions of Coherence among Teacher Education Students and Newly Qualified Teachers of Foreign Languages. An Exploratory Norwegian-German Study

Abstract

AbstractRecent studies on coherence in teacher education draw attention to a process- and actors-oriented approach, considering not only the supply-side, i.e. questions of structural or curricular programs of teacher education institutions, but also the reception of these offers by teacher education students. Against this background, the following contribution covers an exploratory interview study among teacher students and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) of foreign languages in Norway and Germany that who were asked asked about their teacher education programs. The chapter starts with a sketch of the theoretical foundations, followed by an outline of the chosen methodology—a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews in a transnational setting – and a discussion of selected findings. In this context, a comparison is made between different cohorts and locations of education in order to shed light on the importance of curricular differences and to deduce questions for further research.