Effects of teaching practicum placements on teacher students’ career development

A mandatory component of teacher education is the teaching practicum (VFU), during which student teachers develop their practical skills in a classroom setting at a partner school. In many cases, this is students’ first direct contact with the teaching profession, making it highly relevant for understanding both dropout from teacher education and student teachers’ preferences regarding career paths and employer choices.

The purpose of this project is to examine the effects of practicum placements on teachers’ career development more broadly, starting from their time in teacher education and including their choices after graduation. This will be made possible by linking data on practicum placements to Swedish register data, as well as to detailed information on the placement rules within teacher education programs.

Through this project, we aim to generate knowledge that can contribute to improving the functioning of the teacher labor market and the supply of qualified teachers to schools.