Abstract

This quantitative case study assessed pre-service teachers’ (PTs) perceptions about the responsiveness of the teacher education curriculum (TEC) to their needs, the obstacles that impede this responsiveness, and the strategies they perceived to improve the curriculum’s responsiveness. The population consists of all PTs at the Faculty of Education, at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, a sample of 411. Google Forms (questionnaires) was hosted for two months (July to August of 2024) for data collection. These were analyzed using descriptive statistics (graphs, medians, frequency counts, and percentages). Findings show that PTs perceive the TEC to be responsive to their needs and highlighted factors affecting the implementation of a responsive TEC, as well as strategies for improvement. The study recommends that continued efforts geared at making the TEC responsive be advanced, challenges militating against the implementation of a responsive TEC be addressed, and strategies that foster the responsiveness of the TEC be explored and adopted for the good and advancement of the teaching profession.