Abstract

This study investigated teacher trainees’ perceptions of supervisor feedback during their teaching practicum in Tanzania. Specifically, we examined teacher trainees’ perceptions of supervisor feedback, their preferences for feedback modality, and the challenges they encounter in applying supervisor feedback to improve their instructional practices. Data were collected from 803 teacher trainees of two universities by using a survey and focus group discussions and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that supervisor feedback was predominantly offered in the group modality rather than in the individualized modality. The teacher trainees perceived supervisor feedback as useful and were willing to use it to improve their instructional practices. However, their utilization of supervisor feedback was barred by poor timing of assessment and feedback delivery, large class sizes for competence-based pedagogy, limited lesson time, and inadequacy of instructional resources. Theoretical and practical recommendations for making feedback sessions interactive and timely to improve teacher trainees’ instructional practices are drawn.