Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the support, challenges and opportunities associated with teaching out-of-field

While pre-service teacher (PST) education programs prepare teachers for certain specialisations, the reality is that many secondary teachers will be expected to teach out-of-field, especially in Australia. Do universities have a role to play in preparing teachers for out-of-field teaching? At the very least, they should aim to produce adaptable, well-informed, capable teachers. This project uses case study methodology to examine teacher educator and PST perceptions relating to the role that universities play in preparing teachers for a reality that is likely to include out-of-field teaching. This paper focuses on PST perceptions of the associated expected support, challenges and opportunities. A small PST survey sample and PST interviews have shown that there is general positivity towards this practice, around the opportunities that can emerge, and an expectation of support accessibility; but diversity surrounds the challenges, suggesting a variation in respondents’ capacity to cope with the challenges that might emerge. Implications for teacher education are discussed.