Uncovering patterns and (dis)similarities of pre-service teachers through Epistemic Network Analysis

In an increasingly complex world, initial teacher education is called to enact nuanced pedagogies that are empirically based, practically oriented, and tailored to the specificities of their students. This paper reports on the ways Epistemic Frame Theory (EFT), along with Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA), may help teacher educators and stakeholders to respond to such challenges. In 2022, secondary school STEM pre-service teachers in Australia and Italy were engaged in Virtual School placement programs in which they designed and implemented online lessons, in pairs. Their answers to the interviews prior to the beginning of the program are at the basis of this paper. These data highlight the ways these pre-service teachers display knowledge, skills, values and overall epistemologies. We use these findings as empirical evidence to tailor their initial education through the Virtual School program. Hence, EFT and ENA are used as methods and techniques to visualize and interpret the findings to the service of an empirically-based, practically oriented teacher education.