The research focuses on how economics pre-service teachers use their subject\ud
knowledge to teach economics and commerce during their teaching practice. The\ud
research highlights the paradoxical nature of economics as a subject discipline and the\ud
influence that it can have on pre-service teachers' conceptions of teaching economics\ud
and commerce. The purpose of this research is to ascertain the importance of subject\ud
knowledge use in teaching in the Brunei context.\ud
The research is based upon data collected from ten economics pre-service teachers in\ud
Brunei Darussalam. The methodology of this research is an interpretative approach\ud
which specifically aimed at: a) examining pre-service teachers' conceptions of\ud
economics and their conceptions of teaching, b) determining the way pre-service\ud
teachers teach economics and commerce in practice, and c) probing the conceptions of\ud
pre-service teachers in using their specialist subject knowledge when teaching\ud
economics and commerce. The data was textually analysed and the analysis reveals\ud
that the pre-service teachers find difficulty in bridging their knowledge of economics\ud
and their knowledge of pedagogy when teaching school subjects, economics and\ud
commerce.\ud
The research calls for an integration of theory and practice. Teachers need to be made\ud
aware of their own ontological and epistemological positions for them to gain a\ud
deeper understanding of economics as subject knowledge. The research is significant\ud
for future research on teachers' development as teachers' subject knowledge is\ud
integral for their expertise in teaching
