Belief change towards self-directed learning in student teachers: immersion in practice or reflection on action

Although belief change in student teachers constitutes a more important aim in programmes of teacher education than knowledge transmission per se, it is by no means clear what prompts a meaningful transition from existing — and often implicit — beliefs to professionally oriented frameworks for teaching. Reflection-oriented learning by student teachers has been put forward as the major route towards helping them to grow in their practice teaching, and to actively involve them in changing and (re)constructing their own knowledge base for teaching. However, practice teaching often severely challenges these constructed beliefs, and so reflection subsequently loses its claim to be a guide to future action. In this study, the dynamic interchange between reflection and immersion into practice teaching is related to the process of belief change, with student teachers engaging in self-directed teaching methods. It challenges long-held assumptions by indicating that reflection after practice may be a more professionally fruitful way of effecting belief change than reflectively preparing student teachers before they enter their practice teaching, with beliefs which are not grounded in their own teaching experience.