Undergraduate student teachers views and experiences of a compulsory course in research methods

Abstract

In comparison to attention given to research methods for education students at postgraduate level, the offering of research methods for education students at undergraduate level is less often considered. Yet, it is agreed that research methods for undergraduate level students is important for shaping student attitudes, learning and achievement in the field of research. In concurrence with the aforementioned, this paper aimed to examine the views and experiences of a conveniently sampled group of 124 undergraduate South African student teachers of a compulsory course in research methods. By following a quantitative research design, the authors determined the sampled students experiences of research methods, how they value them, and how they perceive the pedagogy, which in this particular instance was working–in–pairs , to teach research methods. For all three the mentioned facets, the findings reflected positive results. However, the research results also pointed to specific issues which might enrich the teaching and status of research methods for undergraduate level education students.