Roles Of Non-Teaching Staff in Actualizing Effective Teaching Practice in Federal College of Education, Abeokuta: Issues and Prospects

Teaching Practice is a crucial component of teacher education, providing student-teachers with the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical setting. The teacher trainers cannot single handedly do the work without exposing the trainee to the field. This enables the trainees to have practical experience(s). This is done through Teaching Practice Directorate which is manned by both teaching and non-teaching personnel with diverse roles to play for the overall success of the entire process. This paper addresses the core duties of Teaching Practice Directorate and its non- teaching staff categories roles, contributions and challenges using participant observations and literature review. The paper found challenges like students not abiding by the rules and regulations of the exercise because they did not attend orientation programmes usually organized for them before the commencement of the exercise and non-teaching staff not benefiting from TETFund Teaching Practice allowances, among others. It recommends among others, that students should be attending Teaching Practice orientation before commencing the exercise and that non-teaching staff be included in TETFund Teaching Practice Allowances.