The relationship and communication experiences between student-teachers and their supervisors in a university child care laboratory setting : a qualitative study

This is a qualitative study about student-teachers and their supervisors and the perceptions of their relationship. Interviewing, participant observation, and tape recording student-teacher/supervisor meetings were the data gathering methods used. Data for the study were collected over a sixteen week period and included field notes of many observations in five different child care classrooms within a university child care laboratory setting.

The goal of this study is to provide information about how student-teachers and their supervisors perceive their experiences. Their viewpoints are presented as expectations, likes and dislikes, as well as comparisons on how the study participants were similar and dissimilar.

The following general conclusions are drawn from the findings: (a) the student-teachers and their supervisors view their experiences with one another as positive and worthwhile; (b) both groups experienced conflict resulting in miscommunication and damaged feelings; (c) expectations for one another concerning specific communication tactics and appropriate behavior were sometimes fulfilled and sometimes not fulfilled resulting in either positive or negative experiences; (d) expectations for each party tended to complement one another in several instances; and, (e) student-teachers' experiences provide a glimpse at how they transition from students to teachers and how their supervisors facilitate this process.