Ajayi et al (879-894)

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Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Values through Reflective Practice during Work Integrated Learning: Fostering Values in Higher Education

Eyitayo Julius Ajayi

School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1697-5016

Eunice Nyamupangedengu

School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2338-8012

Abstract

Fostering values in higher education involves determining how universities intentionally embed or nurture appropriate values in students through curricula, teaching, and institutional culture. This study explored how the values of pre-service teachers (PSTs) were unfolded through reflective practice during work integrated learning. A qualitative research approach was adopted using a case study design. Data were collected from five reflective entries of 60 participants and analysed using systematic thematic data analysis. The Refined Theory of Human Values provided an analytic lens for the conceptualisation and interpretation of the values. The reflections of the PSTs manifested values that corresponded to the following higher order values: (i) openness to change; (ii) self-enhancement; (iii) conservation; and (iv) self-transcendence. The study affirms the importance of reflective practice and work integrated learning as an avenue for fostering PST values, including diversity, equality, and inclusivity values, within higher education contexts. Understanding these values may be essential for developing effective and responsive teacher training programmes for fostering values in higher education.

Keywords: Reflective practice, higher order values, pre-service teachers; higher education; work integrated learning, refined theory of human values

How to cite this article: Ajayi, E.J., &  Nyamupangedengu, E. (2025). Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Values through Reflective Practice during Work Integrated Learning: Fostering Values in Higher Education. African Perspectives of Research in Teaching and Learning, 9(6), 879-894.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.70875/v9i6article16