The Future of Teacher Education Making: EFL Pre-Service Teachers and Teacher Educators' Perceptions of Professional Preparation

The student's success at school greatly depends on the quality teacher and this has led to the governments' growing focus on the quality of teacher education programs and the production of quality teachers. This study explored the contributory role of the newly revised English Teacher Education Curriculum (ETEC) at Farhangian University in pre-service teachers' professional preparation. The participants were 257 BA students in TEFL and 40 teacher educators. The adapted version of the Survey of Teacher Education Programs (STEP) (Williams-Pettway, 2005) and semi-structured interviews were used to obtain data from the participants. After analyzing the data by employing descriptive and inferential statistics, the findings indicated that the participants positively evaluated the components in the program and found it effective in the preparation of prospective teachers. However, some participants pointed to some drawbacks as the requirement of more input on language proficiency and knowledge of English language learners, more effective use of technology, more teaching practice and field experience, and sufficient support from supervising teachers and teacher educators during teaching practicum courses for student teachers. The findings from this study may help tomorrow’s educational leaders to equip themselves with a visionary perspective and begin to form ideas for future change and direction in line with social influences.