Exploring pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning grammar: Implications for teacher education

Teaching metaphors are often used in teacher education programmes for pre-service teachers to critically reflect on their teaching. Metaphors not only give insights into teachers’ beliefs and principles about teaching and learning but may also guide classroom practices. This article sought to explore three Malaysian ESL pre-service teachers’ teaching metaphors in different situations during their teaching practicum. The study also explored what the selected metaphors revealed about the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs. Data in this study was collected qualitatively by using semi-structured interviews and reflective tasks assigned after the pre-service teachers’ teaching practicum at local government schools. Findings indicated that the pre-service teachers have multiple roles, which are represented by various metaphors they formulated in different situations. It has been suggested that metaphors can be effective in eliciting beliefs as the constructed metaphors reveal much about the roles of the pre-service teachers. The major beliefs about teaching and learning generated by the research participants include meeting students’ needs, varying teaching approaches, and facilitating students. The implications of this study are for teacher educators to utilize metaphors in teacher education programmes and to acknowledge pre-service teachers’ beliefs as this may highly impact their practices and development.

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A CASE STUDY ON THE ROLE OF SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS IN ESL PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICE

JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies) ◽

10.30762/jeels.v7i2.2182 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 321-345

Author(s):

Wan Noor Miza Wan Mohd Yunus

Keyword(s):

Teacher Education ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Teacher Educators ◽

Education Programme ◽

Pedagogical Practices ◽

Sociocultural Factors ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

Beliefs About Teaching ◽

Schooling Experience ◽

Beliefs And Practice

Pre-service teachers are often involved in the continuous construction and reconstruction of their identities that are shaped by various internal and external factors. This study explores sociocultural factors that influence pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning namely 1) previous schooling experience, 2) teacher education, and 3) curriculum specifications. Participants of the study were three pre-service teachers studying at a local university in Malaysia. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews conducted after their teaching practicum at local government schools. Findings from this study indicate that the three sociocultural factors have a varying degree of influence towards the pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practice. Previous schooling experience and teacher education programme have the most influence on all the pre-service teachers' beliefs and practice while curriculum specifications have the least impact. It is also evident from this study that the formation of teachers' beliefs is complex as sociocultural factors such as ethnicity, gender, school and home are always interactional. The findings provide implications for ESL teacher educators in considering pre-service teachers' beliefs in teacher education programmes as these may significantly impact their pedagogical practices.

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Science Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Implementing Inquiery-based Learning - A Case in Qatar Government Primary Schools

University of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education ◽

10.29117/quarfe.2020.0278 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alshaima Saleh Alyafei

Keyword(s):

Science Teachers ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Traditional Approach ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Web Based ◽

Years Of Teaching Experience ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

Beliefs About Teaching ◽

Voluntary Basis

The current study investigates the beliefs held by science teachers on constructivism and a traditional approach in Qatar government primary schools. More specifically, it aims to investigate the challenges that science teachers experience during inquiry-based learning implementation. A web-based survey was conducted in order to collect data from grades 4 to 6 science teachers. A total of 112 science teachers responded and completed the survey on a voluntary basis. The results indicate that science teachers hold a higher beliefs in constructivism than traditional approach. A T-test and ANOVA analysis have showed that there is no significant differences between the beliefs of science teachers’ and their gender, level of education, and years of teaching experience. In addition, science teachers faced challenges in lesson planning, assessment, and teacher support.

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Initial Beliefs of Preservice Chemistry Teachers in Croatia

Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal ◽

10.26529/cepsj.730 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 37-57

Author(s):

Lana Šojat

Keyword(s):

Preservice Teachers ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Epistemological Beliefs ◽

Learning Theories ◽

Chemistry Teachers ◽

Teaching Objectives ◽

Open Questions ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

Beliefs About Teaching ◽

Teacher Professional

In the past thirty years, there have been many political changes in Croatia. These changes have had an impact on the education system, as well. The success of such educational changes depends on the teacher. The importance of teachers’ knowledge and their beliefs about teaching and learning for their action in the classroom is well known. Beliefs influence teachers’ representation of science, science knowledge and the organisation of knowledge and information. Keeping teacher professional development in mind, preservice teachers’ beliefs need to be sought out and examined by educators. These beliefs should be developed in the direction of teaching chemistry taking into account recent reforms, as well as teaching and learning theories. Various studies have been undertaken in different education backgrounds and systems regarding the beliefs of both preservice and in-service teachers. These studies show different results depending on the context in which they are undertaken. Transferring data to the Croatian system is therefore difficult. However, there are no studies in Croatia focusing on the teachers’ beliefs regrading teaching and learning chemistry. The present study evaluates the initial beliefs of preservice chemistry teachers in Croatia. The participants were instructed to draw themselves as chemistry teachers in a typical classroom situation in chemistry, and to answer four open questions. Data analysis follows a pattern representing a range between the predominance of more traditional orientations versus more modern teaching orientations, in line with educational theory focusing on: 1) beliefs about classroom organisation, 2) beliefs about teaching objectives, and 3) epistemological beliefs. The data revealed mostly traditional and teacher-centred knowledge among all of the participants. In the present paper, the data will be discussed and the implications for Croatian chemistry teacher training will be established.

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