The professional practices in the international standards for ‎accrediting teacher programs and the degree to which the Al-Azhar ‎Educational Qualification Program achieves them

The study aimed to: determine the professional teacher practices included in the international standards for accrediting teacher programs (CAEP), reveal the degree to which the Al-Azhar Educational Qualification Program (AEQP) achieves these professional practices from the students’ viewpoints, indicate the extent to which this degree varies according to variables of: geographical location of the center, gender, specialization, and G.P.A., and propose the mechanisms through which professional teacher practices can be enhanced in the AEQP in light of CAEP.
To achieve the objectives of this descriptive survey study, the standards of CAEP were Arabized, the professional teacher practices included in them were extrapolated and codified to determine the extent of their compatibility with Egyptian teacher preparation programs in general and the AEQP in particular. After directing the questionnaire to all students in the AEQP, the study sample consisted of (1267) students. Analysis of the results showed that the AEQP contributes to achieving the teacher’s professional practices to a weak degree, whether the practices are linked to the “Content and Pedagogical Knowledge” standard (2.29), or to the “Field/Clinical Partnerships and Practice” standard (1.76). The results also showed, at the level of the whole questionnaire, that there were statistically significant differences among the averages of the responses of the sample members according to the gender variable in the direction of male students, and according to the variable of the center location in the direction of students in Lower Egypt centers, and according to the specialization variable in the direction of students with natural specializations, and according to the GPA variable, the direction of students who got “excellent.”
An open questionnaire was also directed to (107) faculty members in the AEQP to explore their proposals towards mechanisms for enhancing professional teacher practices in the AEQP. Among their most frequent suggestions were: field training for students in the AEQP in schools, improving the educational process system, especially what is related to curricula, teaching methods, and evaluation methods, then the practical application of the educational content and knowledge related to the teacher’s professional practices. The study also provided procedural indicators that would benefit the stakeholders to develop it.