This study aimed to explore how pre-service teachers construct the meaning of teaching and develop their professional identity through participation in educational donation activities. Eight pre-service teachers enrolled in a college of education who ...
This study aimed to explore how pre-service teachers construct the meaning of teaching and develop their professional identity through participation in educational donation activities. Eight pre-service teachers enrolled in a college of education who had prior experience with educational donation programs were interviewed using semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Participants engaged in various forms of educational donation activities, including subject-based class assistance, career mentoring, and experiential learning programs. The collected data were analyzed through the thematic analysis process. The analysis revealed five key themes: (1) “performing as a teacher,” (2) “the incomplete rehearsal of teaching practice,” (3) “the emotional field of relationship learning,” (4) “becoming a reflective teacher through perceived insufficiency,” and (5) “encountering the shadow of the teaching profession.” These findings illustrate that educational donation activities function as a performative and reflective learning space where pre-service teachers experience the practical realities of teaching, negotiate their emotional and relational roles, and internalize the meaning of being a teacher. The study highlights the educational significance of educational donation as a formative process that bridges learning and teaching, providing critical implications for experience-based reflection in teacher education.