摘要：The issue of preparing qualified and motivated teachers equipped with all the
essential pedagogical and content knowledge and language proficiency has
recently become a top priority in many countries, including the United Arab
Emirates (UAE). The main aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of
teaching practice on pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical
preferences, teaching competence and motivation for choosing teaching as a future
career. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods in order to
have a better understanding of the phenomenon. A five Likert scale questionnaire
and a focus group interview were used to collect the necessary data. The
questionnaire was distributed and collected from 30 senior prospective female
teachers in both elementary and early childhood education programs in a university
in the UAE, while the interviews were conducted with only 12 volunteered student
teachers. The study’s results revealed positive views about the two groups’
pedagogical preferences, teaching competence and motivation. Many of the
statistically significant results were in favour of the elementary group. Overall, a
considerable number of results revealed that prospective teachers view teaching
practice experience to have an impact on their pedagogical preferences, teaching
competence and motivation. The study concluded with some implications and/or
recommendations for future research.
