Large-scale assessment as professional development: teachers’ motivations,ability beliefs,and values

In this study, conducted in the United States, the authors examined the motivational characteristics of teachers in the context of a large-scale performance assessment program. Teachers received professional development through their participation in the assessment program by writing items, reviewing items, and reviewing scoring criteria. An expectancy-value theory framework and embedded mixed-methods design were used to examine teachers’ (n = 119) motivations, ability beliefs, and values related to their professional development. Survey results showed that teachers generally had a high degree of intrinsic motivation for and associated social and pedagogical utility value with the professional development. Teachers reported positive ability beliefs, a high degree of usefulness, importance, and interest associated with the professional development, and positive changes to instruction and assessment. Results of multiple regression analyses showed teachers’ intrinsic motivations and ability beliefs predicted changes to instruction and assessments. Interview results illustrated the ways in which knowledge gained from involvement in the assessment program translated to practice. Results provided insight into the complexity of participants’ values, identifying factors that enabled or constrained changes to instruction and assessments.     

Hindu,Muslim and Sikh religious education teachers’ use of personal life knowledge: the relationship between biographies,professional beliefs and practice

The article reports the findings of a qualitative study of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh teachers of religious education and the relationship between their biographies, professional beliefs and use of personal life knowledge in English, secondary school classrooms. This relationship was explored through a study of five beginning teachers and provided evidence of the role that their personal knowledge played in enabling them to support the learning of pupils in white majority and Muslim majority state schools. It also indicated the need for teacher education courses to provide opportunities for teachers to explore the relationship between their personal and professional lives and the potential dilemmas and dangers of sharing their personal knowledge and experiences with pupils. In the context of international concern to identify criteria for selecting beginning teachers, the article highlights the importance of initiatives aimed at increasing the ethnic/religious diversity of the teaching force.     

Effects of personal and professional factors on teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion in preschool

Attitudes towards inclusive education have a crucial place in the effective implementation of inclusion practices. The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ attitudes towards inclusive education in preschool education in Portugal and to identify teachers’ personal and professional variables that influence these attitudes. The data were collected from a sample composed of 68 preschool teachers working in mainstream schools located in urban and rural areas. The results indicated overall positive attitudes towards inclusion. Having previous personal contact with a person with special educational needs predicted more positive affective attitudes, whereas having previous experience teaching classes that included students with and without special educational needs predicted less positive behavioural intentions. From these results, we infer an emergent need for continuous training and for the promotion of positive attitudes among preschool teachers to achieve the successful implementation of inclusion at this educational level.     

Preschool teachers’ beliefs and practices related to child-centred education in Turkey

This study describes the beliefs, self-reported practices and actual practices related to child-centred education of five female preschool teachers in Ankara, Turkey, and assesses the consistency between the participants’ beliefs and practices. Data were collected through interviews, classroom observations and document review. The results indicated that the participant teachers’ beliefs and practices as expressed through instructional activities, relationships, behaviour management, assessment, parental involvement and self-reporting were partially parallel to the child-centred education philosophy. Also, there was only partial consistency between teachers’ beliefs about, self-reported practices of and actual practices of child-centred education.     

Pre-service teachers’ science beliefs,attitudes, and self-efficacy: a multi-case study

The aim of this multi-case study was to explore the extent and nature of changes in elementary pre-service teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy toward science and science teaching as a result of participating in a science methods course. The study specifically focused on three groups of pre-service teachers based on their varying beliefs, attitudes, and self-efficacy prior to the course. The study examined factors that may have contributed to changes in these domains as well as interrelationships among the three constructs.     

Pre-service teachers’ personal epistemic beliefs and the beliefs they assume their pupils to have

In their workaday life, teachers are faced with multiple complex tasks. How they carry out these tasks is also influenced by their epistemic beliefs and the beliefs they assume their pupils hold. In an empirical study, pre-service teachers’ epistemic beliefs and those they assume of their pupils were investigated in the setting of teacher education for vocational schools in Germany. Results of the empirical study point at significant inconsistencies between pre-service teachers’ beliefs, the beliefs they assume of their pupils and beliefs conducive to the curricular and didactic concept preferred for vocational schools. Partly, these inconsistencies can be explained by pre-service teachers’ learning experiences in school and university. It seems important that the education of teachers in vocational education aims at scaffolding pre-service teachers in developing beliefs that are conducive for their future profession.     

Short-term professional learning that focuses on beliefs and practice: Improvements in preschool teachers’ ongoing literacy practice

An intervention study was conducted with preschool teachers to address their beliefs and practice in the area of language and literacy. A total of 27 preschool teachers, each from different early childcare centers, participated in three 1-day professional learning sessions over the course of 9 months. Learning sessions focused on three different language and literacy topics. Study participants completed a pre- and post-session questionnaire and were observed in the classroom before and after each session. Significant differences were observed in both their beliefs and practice after the intervention. Specifically, preschool teachers’ beliefs were related to their practice in two areas: oral language and vocabulary; and book reading. Based on the data, a focus on beliefs and practice in future short-term PL or workshop models may support successful outcomes in teaching practice.     

Novice teacher vertical professional development? Exploring teachers’ and coaches’ beliefs throughout a two-year induction program

Learning Environments Research - The pedagogical beliefs of novice teachers and their coaches throughout a two-year induction program and how those beliefs impact their induction experiences were...     

The influence of a customized continuing professional development programme on physical education teachers’ perceived physical literacy and efficacy beliefs

PROSPECTS - The purpose of this article is to explore the influence of a customized continuing professional development (PE-CPD) programme on PE teachers’ perceived physical literacy and...     

Irish student teachers’ beliefs about self,learning and teaching: a longitudinal study

This paper explores the beliefs about self-as-teacher, learning and teaching of preservice elementary teachers during a three-year undergraduate programme. Using a qualitative grounded theory analysis, the study examined the initial beliefs or personal theories of 27 preservice teachers during their first Semester. Longitudinal data were gathered from 7 of these students over the three-year duration of their teacher education programme through iterative interviews and reflective journal analysis. The findings demonstrate expansion in preservice teachers’ understandings of the teacher’s role, the value of reflective practice, the differential needs of learners and approaches to pedagogy. Findings point to lacunae in preservice teachers’ capacity for critical reflective practice and demonstrate how classroom management concerns can cause preservice teachers to adopt more cautious and traditional pedagogical approaches, despite their espoused commitment to child-centred principles.     

Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity

The studies considered in this review of recent research on teachers’ professional identity can be divided into three categories: (1) studies in which the focus was on teachers’ professional identity formation, (2) studies in which the focus was on the identification of characteristics of teachers’ professional identity, and (3) studies in which professional identity was (re)presented by teachers’ stories. In the studies reviewed, the concept of professional identity was defined differently or not defined at all. Four essential features of teachers’ professional identity could be derived from the studies. Many of the reviewed studies appeared to be studies on teachers’ personal practical knowledge. However, in only a few studies was the relationship between this knowledge and professional identity made explicit. It is argued that, in future research on teachers’ professional identity, more attention needs to be paid to the relationship between relevant concepts like ‘self’ and ‘identity’, the role of the context in professional identity formation, what counts as ‘professional’ in professional identity, and research perspectives other than the cognitive one that may also play a role in designing research on teachers’ professional identity.     

Learning‐to‐learn and learning‐to‐teach: the impact of disciplinary subject study on student‐teachers’ professional identity

A coherent view of student‐teachers’ preparation and the learning experiences to which they are exposed are key to sustaining the relevance of university‐based teacher‐education programmes. Arguably, such coherence is lacking and the research base to an understanding of the student‐teacher experience is still a relatively limited one. This paper takes the view that student‐teachers’ epistemological growth is a key component of their professional development, their sense of identity as intending teachers, and their successful entry into a teaching career. In adopting a phenomenographic approach it explores a chain of evidence which demonstrates that immersion in the processes of learning and knowing, within a specific disciplinary context, had a significant impact on students’ emerging professional identities and on their values as teachers which extends beyond the subject matter itself. Arguably, the findings of this case‐study hold important implications for a teacher‐education programme and for effective pedagogic practice.     

A cross-cultural study on the influence of cultural values and teacher beliefs on university teachers’ information and communications technology acceptance

This study examined how cultural values and teacher beliefs influence Chinese and Spanish university teachers’ acceptance of ICTs by combining Hofstede’s cultural values theory with technology acceptance theories. Four hundred and twenty-five university teachers from China and 385 teachers from Spain participated in the study. The proposed research model was tested by using samples from both countries and the multigroup analyses were performed to test moderating effects of cultural variables. Results confirmed the validity of the model in both samples and the effects of cultural values on the adoption of ICTs, and significant differences were observed between the two samples.

     

Changes in teachers’ beliefs after a professional development project for teaching writing: two Chinese cases

A plethora of research has found that teachers’ beliefs directly influence their classroom practices and teaching outcomes. While numerous studies in second/foreign language writing have examined the effectiveness of different innovative approaches on students’ learning to write, there is a paucity of research on writing teachers’ beliefs about these approaches and how their beliefs change in the process of their professional development. Such a lacuna becomes prominent in English as a Foreign Language contexts, especially in China, where there are numerous calls for changing the nature of classroom practices from product-focused to process- and student-centred instruction. In order to fill this gap, this brief article reports on a case study regarding changes in two Chinese English teachers’ beliefs after attending a professional development project for teaching writing. A key research question guides this study: What changes, if any, did the two teachers experience in their teaching beliefs during the project? Two writing teachers were voluntarily recruited for a case study. Findings show that the professional development project for teaching writing broadened the teachers’ understanding of different writing theories, provided a clear model of how to integrate these new approaches into regular writing courses, changed their instructional focus and shifted their perception of teachers’ roles in teaching practice.     

Teacher education matters: Finnish teacher educators’ concerns,beliefs, and values

The professional development of teacher educators is gaining increasing interest globally. However, not so many studies have been carried out in the Finnish context, which is somewhat surprising considering that the Finnish education system and teacher education has gained so much interest worldwide. This study investigates Finnish teacher educators’ concerns, beliefs and values. The results show that teacher educators experienced a variety of concerns in their work, in the beginning mainly dealing with the position and being a novice, and later they became more concerned with heavy workloads and practical teaching-related matters. The teacher educators studied considered the students’ education to be the most important aspect of their work. The research-based nature of teacher education was also felt to be very important, along with its community aspects, and their own specialization. In general, Finnish teacher educators considered their work to be important.     

Addressing the discontinuity of students’ and teachers’ diversity: a preliminary study of preservice teachers’ beliefs and perceived skills

The authors of the present investigation provide baseline data regarding preservice teachers’ beliefs about addressing the needs of students whose backgrounds and abilities differ from their own. These data provide the guidance for subsequent in-depth longitudinal investigations about the ways in which preservice teachers’ beliefs inform their classroom behaviors toward the aforementioned students, as well as suggestions for teacher educators about program improvements.     

How teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching relate to their continuing professional development

Teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) can improve teacher quality and teaching practice, yet teachers differ greatly in the extent to which they engage in CPD. In extensive research into which factors affect teachers’ participation in CPD, the effects of teachers’ beliefs have received limited attention, despite their strong influences on people’s working and learning. Teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching in particular influence their teaching practices. Does a comparable relationship exist between these beliefs and teachers’ own learning or participation in CPD? To explore this relationship, 260 Dutch secondary school teachers completed a survey that focused on the teachers’ student-oriented and subject matter-oriented beliefs, as well as on teachers’ updating, reflective and collaborative activities. Because teachers’ characteristics reflect both belief dimensions, this study relied on cluster analysis, which revealed three distinct belief profiles. These results indicated that teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching relate to their participation in CPD: the more a teacher’s profile is student oriented and subject matter oriented, the higher his or her participation in CPD. The results have implications for enhancing teachers’ reflections on their beliefs about learning and teaching, in conjunction with participation in CPD.     

‘Soviet’ in teachers’ memories and professional beliefs in Kazakhstan: points for reflection for reformers,international consultants and practitioners

This paper is a part of a three-year study, ‘Internationalisation and reform of secondary schooling in Kazakhstan’, jointly conducted by an international team of UK- and Kazakhstan-based researchers in 2012–2014. The study was conceived as a mechanism to support education reform in the country. This was achieved through reconstructing the education policy narrative of the last two decades and understanding the effects of the newly established Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and the Centres of Excellence in-service professional development programme on the larger system. While the focus of the study was on Kazakhstan’s educational present, the references to the previous system of education, which was often referred to as Soviet, traditional, but also successful, fundamental and the best in the world, were numerous. These continuous references to the past prompted the authors of this paper to address the questions: What memories and practices of Soviet education are still dominant in the field of education in Kazakhstan? How do these beliefs continue to shape educational debate in the country? In support of its argument, the paper draws on the literature on Soviet schooling and contemporary education reform, interview data with national and international teachers in Kazakhstan, and field observations. The resultant narrative, which brings together the analysis of educational change and changes in teachers’ beliefs, may appeal to many involved in the construction of the contemporary reform agenda.