This article examines the gap between the theory and practice of teaching by reporting a study that researched the inconsistencies between student teachers' best teaching strategies and their most commonly employed ones. Specifically, the authors investigated: (1) the
considerations that contribute to the inconsistencies in the student teachers' conceptions of teaching; and (2) the enhancing factors of the teacher education programme which help to close the gap between the theory and practice of teaching. The findings revealed three main dimensions of consideration attributing to the inconsistencies in the conceptions of teaching: pre-training experience, teaching context and student needs. More