EXAMINING THE MICROPOLITICAL LITERACY OF SCIENCE INTERN TEACHERS IN TAIWAN

Micropolitical learning constitutes an essential part of the professional development of prospective science teachers. Drawing on interviews, this study applied categories of professional interests as a framework for investigating Taiwanese secondary science intern teachers' experiences of the micropolitical realities in schools and the meanings that the science interns construct for micropolitical experiences. The professional interests consist of material, organizational, social-professional, cultural-ideological, and self-interests (Kelchtermans & Ballet, 2002a). This study identified the career development interests of science interns beyond the five pre-defined subcategories. To cope with their vulnerability due to the lack of positional authority and role ambiguity in the practicum sites, the pursuit of social-professional interests was the most important. Proactively fitting into the prearranged school environments was the most prevalent micropolitical strategy for the interns because of their lack of professional autonomy and their supervisors' expectations. However, the efforts of a small number of science interns in challenging the school practices were noteworthy.