Universal Journal of Educational Research 9(10): 1794-1804, 2021 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2021.091008 Student Teachers, Professional Development and Effectiveness: The Role of Resilience in Enhancing the Culture of Learning and Teaching Vuyisile Msila Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, University of South Africa, Pretoria, 0003, Gauteng, South Africa Received July 15, 2021; Revised September 17, 2021; Accepted September 29, 2021 Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles (a): [1] Vuyisile Msila , "Student Teachers, Professional Development and Effectiveness: The Role of Resilience in Enhancing the Culture of Learning and Teaching," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 9, No. 10, pp. 1794 - 1804, 2021. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2021.091008. (b): Vuyisile Msila (2021). Student Teachers, Professional Development and Effectiveness: The Role of Resilience in Enhancing the Culture of Learning and Teaching. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 9(10), 1794 - 1804. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2021.091008. Copyright©2021 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract Student teachers in their initial teacher training get time to visit schools and observe and put various theories into practice. Practice teaching is the beginning of the journey towards professionalism. Yet many student teachers who visit schools in South Africa witness grim realities in different schools. Several South African education experts have written about two kinds of school systems; one is schools serving the affluent families whilst the other, numerous schools serve the indigent families and children who are faced with adversity in society. This case study examines the role of teachers in engendering hope and emotional strength among learners who face hardships. Exposed to challenging conditions in their practice teaching schools, the 10 student teachers tried to develop themselves as well as the learners through the fostering of resilience. The conclusions found that facilitating resilience among learners who face adversity is one powerful remedy in creating affable school climate and invitational classrooms. Teachers who instill this in their classrooms may have a long fulfilling career as teachers who are both life-long learners and professionally matured whilst their learners overcome their personal challenges as they face classrooms with emotional stability. Keywords Practice Teaching, Professional Maturity, Resilience, School Effectiveness 1. Introduction Student teachers in initial teacher training programs are supposed to have the most exciting times in schools as they do their practice teaching. When out there teaching they get to try out various teaching strategies they have learnt in their higher education institutions. Practice teaching of student teachers is the beginning of a journey for life-long professional development. It enables them to try out the theories learnt in their university classes in the actual classrooms. It is a process of practice teaching but, in reality, the student teachers also practise learning [1]. This means that student teachers will also learn several aspects of teaching when they are in schools that they probably have not learned previously. De Souza [1] states that effective student teachers need certain qualities and these include enthusiasm, confidence, warmth and support. The current student teachers are in exciting times as well as daunting times. Teaching has become exciting in countries like South Africa where there are debates around decolonization, Africanization and constructivist models in classrooms. These are relevant issues and new teachers may be able to bring novel ways of teaching using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). Yet it can also be daunting because, for student teachers hoping to implement new ways of teaching, they may find that in their schools where they practise established teachers are still struggling to use the new ways. Tok [2]