Chapter 9: Reconfiguring Initial Teacher Education Through COVID-19 Times: Student Teachers’ Perspectives and Experiences in Malta

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted global education, including Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes and universities (Montenegro-Rueda et al., 2021; Slack & Priestley, 2022). During this transition from face-to-face instruction to online formats, challenges emerged in delivering and assessing coursework and field-based teaching practices (TPs) (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020; Strielkowski, 2020). This chapter examines the shift to remote online ITE provision at a higher education (HE) institution in Malta, highlighting its potential for innovative teaching, learning, and assessment methods. A survey by the University of Malta's (UM) Faculty of Education (FoE) in September 2021 explored student teachers’ preferences in instructional modes, engagement levels, and assessment experiences. The survey, through close-ended and open-ended questionnaire items, revealed that diverse teaching, learning, and assessment approaches were experienced by student teachers, with a significant majority (67.3%) favouring retaining a blended approach in post-pandemic times. This study emphasises the need to adapt ITE to the digital era and avoid reverting to pre-pandemic norms. It also advocates for a proactive stance in integrating lessons from online and hybrid learning into ITE curricula. It highlights the importance of embracing technological advancements while upholding effective teaching and learning modes to ensure ITE remains relevant in today's educational landscape.