Kigali Institute of Education, Curriculum and Teaching, Rwanda; University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Nizeyimana, G., Kigali Institute of Education, Curriculum and Teaching, Rwanda; Osman, R., University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
This article explores the influence of university/college first-year student teachers' educational backgrounds and their beliefs about teaching on their performance, and identifies these as key indicators of student engagement in learning to teach in developing countries, with particular reference to Rwanda. Both quantitative data (students' marks) and qualitative data (semi-structured interviews) were collected from student teachers in the 2010 academic year. This article argues that, in developing countries where primary teacher preparation is done at high school level while secondary school teacher preparation is done at university/college level, tertiary first-year student teachers' beliefs about their teaching career are more likely to determine the level of their engagement in learning to teach and hence performance than their prior academic background in related fields of study. © 2014 © 2014 The University of Johannesburg.