Effects of practice teaching on student teachers' conception of themselves as members of the teaching profession: Effects of "Ibasho" (sense of belonging)

The present study explored the concept of ibasho (sense of belonging) in situations in which student teachers were part of small practice teaching groups at schools, and examined effects of ibasho on the development of their view of themselves as teachers. Participants in the study were 140 student teachers (51 males, 89 females). The major findings were as follows: (a) Exploratory factor analysis of the concept of ibasho revealed 3 major factors: "sense of self-acceptance", "sense of role", and "empathy". These three all improved after practice teaching, (b) Multiple regression analysis indicated that "friendly experiences in informal settings" and "cooperative experiences in formal settings" influenced ibasho in general. Gender differences were also revealed. For the female student teachers, "instruction and support from mentors with regard to classroom teaching" influenced their "sense of role", (c) Multiple regression analysis also indicated that an increase in "sense of role" influenced the "degree of desire to become a teacher" of the female student teachers, and the "teacher image" of the males, (d) For the male student teachers, increased ibasho influenced their "teacher efficacy".