Preservice teachers' peer support through close social ties: an investigation of the social side of teacher education

Typical preservice teachers will experience a number of demanding teaching situations during their school-based teaching practice. In such situations, peer support from fellow students may be an important factor. A questionnaire was distributed to Danish preservice teachers in selected teacher education programmes (namely, at university colleges). A total of 1,448 preservice teachers participated. Structural equation modelling of the questionnaire data shows that achievement goal motivation is the factor most strongly related to peer support. Intrinsic motivation is also a significant factor. The self-efficacy of preservice teachers in teaching situations is also related to peer support, while experiences of discipline problems in teaching situations are negatively related to self-efficacy. Implications of these findings are discussed.