Educational belief

Introduction[edit | edit source]

“The last two decades have witnessed a growing tendency to perceive teachingas a professional activity requiring complex and demanding cognitiveprocesses. Understanding teaching necessitates understanding teachers’ thinking, beliefs and knowledge regarding teaching, learning and students.” (Hativa, 2000) ^[1]

“The thinking, planning, and decision making of teachers constitute a large part of the psychological context of teaching. It is within this context that curriculum is interpreted and acted upon; where teachers teach and students learn. Teacher behaviour is substantially influenced and even determined by teachers’ thought processes. These are the fundamental assumptions behind the literature that has come to be called research on teacher thinking. (Clark & Peterson, 1986, p. 255).”, cited by Hativa and Goodyear (2002) ^[2]

Beliefs are part of teachers' thinking, i.e. there is a relationship between teachers' thinking (e.g. their educational beliefs) and their educational practice, including the use of technology.

Biesta et al (2015) ^[3] identify “three areas of teachers’ beliefs: beliefs about children and young people; beliefs about teaching; and beliefs about the purposes of education.”

“Personal epistemological beliefs influence one’s cognitive and metacognitive operations in a significant way. They also influence how teachers conceptualize teaching. It is therefore essential for teacher educators to understand the epistemological beliefs that pre‐service teachers are holding to foster mature epistemological outlooks that could facilitate educational reforms.” (Chai, 2007) ^[4]

We could speculate, that there is a relationship between between teachers' educational beliefs and learners' beliefs about learning. Firstly, because teachers are also learning as reflective practitioners and, second, because their perception on how their students believe they learn may influence the way they teach.

See also:

• teaching style

Educational beliefs and use of technology in the classroom[edit | edit source]

According to Tondeur et al. (2019), ^[5] “Ultimately, teachers’ personal pedagogical beliefs play a key role in their pedagogical decisions regarding whether and how to integrate technology within their classroom practices (Deng et al. 2014; Inan and Lowther 2010). Researchers have argued that teachers’ classroom practices are highly influenced by their pedagogical beliefs (Fives and Gill 2015; Kagan 1992; Pajares 1992; Richardson 1996). Based on the results of previous research (Ertmer et al. 2015; Hermans et al. 2008; Lin et al. 2012; Zhao and Frank 2003), teachers select applications of technology that align with their selections of other curricular variables and methods (e.g., teaching strategies) and that also align with their existing beliefs about ‘good’ education. [...] In this respect, research on educational innovations suggests that technology integration can only be fully understood when teachers’ pedagogical beliefs are taken into account (Ertmer 2005; Lim and Chan 2007; Liu 2011; Sang et al. 2010a).”

The authors ^[5] conclude in their aggregated review of qualitative studies that “the relationship between pedagogical beliefs and technology use comprises a bi-directional relationship. [...] i.e. beliefs lead to actions, which, in turn, lead to the development of reconstructed or reaffirmed beliefs (Haney, 2002)”

Survey instruments[edit | edit source]

• Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ), Schommer, 1990.

• “Educational Beliefs Scale (EBS)”, by Yilmaz et al. (2011)

• “Revised Two-FactorStudy Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F), by Biggs et al. (2001). This is an instrument that is suitable for use by teachers in evaluating the learning approaches of their students. (not their own beliefs)

• Educational Belief Inventory (EBI) ^[6]

Bibliography and references[edit | edit source]

Cited with footnotes[edit | edit source]

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

Also includes more general studies on epistemological beliefs etc.

• Aypay, A. (2010). Teacher education student’s epistemological beliefs and their conceptions about teaching and learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 2599–2604.

• Bender, E., Schaper, N., Caspersen, M. E., Margaritis, M., & Hubwieser, P. (2016). Identifying and formulating teachers’ beliefs and motivational orientations for computer science teacher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(11), 1958–1973. http://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1004233

• Berthelsen, D., Brownlee, J., & Boulton-Lewis, G. (2002). Caregivers’ epistemological beliefs in toddler programs. Early Child Development and Care, 172, 503–516.

• Biggs, J., Kember, D., & Leung, D. Y. (2001). The revised two‐factor study process questionnaire: R‐SPQ‐2F. British journal of educational psychology, 71(1), 133-149.

• Brownlee, J. 2001. Knowing and learning in teacher education: a theoretical framework of core and peripheral epistemological beliefs. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Teacher Education and Development, 4(1): 131–155.

• Brownlee, J. 2003. Changes in primary school teachers’ beliefs about knowing: a longitudinal study. Asia‐Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 31(1): 87–97.

• Brownlee, J., Walker, S., Lennox, S., Exley, B., & Pearce, S. (2009). The first year university experience: Using personal epistemology to understand effective learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education: International Journal of Higher Education and Educational Planning, 58, 599–618.

• Calderhead, J. 1996. “Teachers: beliefs and knowledge”. In Handbook of educational psychology, Edited by: Berliner, D. C. and Calfee, R. C. 709–725. New York: Macmillan.

• Chai, C. S., Khine, M. S., & Teo, T. (2006). Epistemological beliefs on teaching and learning: A survey among pre-service teachers in Singapore. Educational Media International, 13, 285–298. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523980600926242

• Deng, F., Chai, C. S., Tsai, C. C., & Lee, M. H. (2014). The relationships among Chinese practicing teachers’ epistemic beliefs, pedagogical beliefs and their beliefs about the use of ICT. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 17(2), 245–256.

• Duffy, M. C., Muis, K. R., Foy, M. J., Trevors, G., & Ranellucci, J. (2016). Exploring relations between teachers’ beliefs, instructional practices, and students’ beliefs in statistics. International Education Research, 4(1), 37-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.12735/ier.v4i1p37

• Ertmer, P. A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A., & Tondeur, J. (2015). Teacher beliefs and uses of technology to support 21st century teaching and learning. In H. R. Fives & M. Gill (Eds.), International handbook of research on teacher beliefs (pp. 403–418). New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis.

• Ertmer, P. A. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 25–39.

• Ertmer, P. A., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T. (2010). Teacher technology change: How knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and culture intersect. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42, 255–284.

• Fang, Z. (1996). A review of research on teacher beliefs and practices. Educational Research, 38(1), 47–65.

• Fives, H., & Gill, M. G. (Eds.). (2015). International handbook of research on teachers’ beliefs. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis.

• Fives, H, Buehl, MM (2012) Spring cleaning for the ‘messy’ construct of teachers’ beliefs: What are they? Which have been examined? What can they tell us? In: Harris, KR, Graham, S, Urdan, T (eds) APA Educational Psychology Handbook, Vol. 2: Individual Differences and Cultural and Contextual Factors. Washington, DC: APA Psychological Association, pp. 471–499.

• Gallini, J. K., & Barron, D. (2001). Participants’ Perceptions of Web-Infused Environments. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(2), 139–156. http://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2001.10782341

• Hermans, R., Tondeur, J., van Braak, J., & Valcke, M. (2008). The impact of primary school teachers’ educational beliefs on the classroom use of computers. Computers & Education, 51(4), 1499–1509.

• Hofer, B. K. and Pintrich, P. R. 1997. The development of epistemological theories: beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning. Review of Educational Research, 67(1): 88–140. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543067001088

• Hofer, B. K. (2000). Dimensionality and disciplinary differences in personal epistemology. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 378–405.

• Holt‐Reynolds, D. 2000. What does the teacher do? Constructivist pedagogies and prospective teachers’ beliefs about the role of a teacher. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(1): 21–32.

• Inan, F. A., & Lowther, D. L. (2010). Factors affecting technology integration in K-12 classrooms: a path model. Educational Technology Research and Development, 58(2), 137–154.

• Kagan, D. M. (1992). Implications of research on teacher belief. Educational Psychologist, 27(1), 65–90. [Google Scholar]

• Kang, N. H. (2008). Learning to teach science: Personal epistemologies, teaching goals, and practices of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 478–498.

• Kuhn, D., & Weinstock, M. (2002). What is epistemological thinking and why does it matter? In B. K. Hofer & P. R. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 121–144). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

• Jehng, J., Johnson, S. D. and Anderson, R. C. 1993. Schooling and students’ epistemological beliefs about learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 18: 23–35.

• Lane, R. (2015). Experienced geography teachers’ PCK of students’ ideas and beliefs about learning and teaching. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 24(1), 43–57. http://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2014.967113

• Lin, J. M. C., Wang, P. Y., & Lin, I. (2012). Pedagogy * technology: A two-dimensional model for teachers’ ICT integration. British Journal of Educational Technology, 43(1), 97–108.

• Lim, C. P., & Chan, B. C. (2007). MicroLESSONS in teacher education: Examining pre-service teachers’ pedagogical beliefs. Computers & Education, 48, 474–494.

• Lim, C. P., Tondeur, J., Nastiti, H., & Pagram, J. (2014). Educational innovations and pedagogical beliefs: The case of a professional development program for Indonesian teachers. Journal of Applied Research in Education, 18, 1–14.

• Liu, S. H. (2011). Factors related to pedagogical beliefs of teachers and technology integration. Computers & Education, 56(4), 1012–1022.

• Mueller, J., Wood, E., Willoughby, T., Ross, C., & Specht, J. (2008). Identifying discriminating variables between teachers who fully integrate computers and teachers with limited integration. Computers & Education, 51, 1523–1537.

• Nespor, J. (1987). The role of beliefs in the practice of teaching. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 19(4), 317–328.

• Olafson, L., & Schraw, G. (2006). Teachers’ beliefs and practices within and across domains. International Journal of Educational Research, 45, 71–84.

• Otting, H, Zwaal, W, Tempelaar, D. (2010) The structural relationship between students’ epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching and learning. Studies in Higher Education 35(7): 741–760.

• Oschatz, K. (2015). Epistemological Beliefs and Motivation. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 887–893. http://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.26093-5

• Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers’ Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning Up a Messy Construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307–332. [Google Scholar]

• Päuler-Kuppinger, L., & Jucks, R. (2017). Perspectives on teaching: Conceptions of teaching and epistemological beliefs of university academics and students in different domains. Active Learning in Higher Education, 18(1), 63–76. http://doi.org/10.1177/1469787417693507

• Prestridge, S. (2012). The beliefs behind the teacher that influences their ICT practices. Computers & Education, 58(1), 449–458.

• Richardson, V. 1996. “The role of attitudes and beliefs in learning to teach”. In Handbook of research on teacher education , (2nd edn), Edited by: Sikula, J., Buttery, T. J. and Guyton, E. 102–119. New York: Macmillan.

• Richardson, V. 2003. “Pre‐service teachers’ beliefs”. In Teacher beliefs and classroom performance: the impact of teacher education, Edited by: Raths, J. and McAninch, A. C. 1–22. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

• Roth, G, Weinstock, M (2013) Teachers’ epistemological beliefs as an antecedent of autonomy-supportive teaching. Motivation and Emotion 37(3): 402–412. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11031-012-9338-x

• Sahin, S. A. (2015). The Relationship between the Educational Beliefs and Learning Approaches. The Anthropologist, 22(2), 301–308. http://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2015.11891881

• Sang, G., Valcke, M., van Braak, J., & Tondeur, J. (2010a). Student teachers’ thinking processes and ICT integration: Predictors of prospective teaching behaviors with educational technology. Computers & Education, 54(1), 103–112.

• Sang, G. Y., Valcke, M., van Braak, J., & Tondeur, J. (2010b). Investigating teachers educational beliefs in Chinese primary schools: socio-economical and geographical perspectives. Asia-pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 37(4), 363–377.

• Schommer‐Aikins, M. Personal epistemology: conflict and consensus in an emerging area of inquiry. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. April, New Orleans.

• Schommer, M. 1994. Synthesizing epistemological belief research: tentative understandings and provocative confusions. Educational Psychology Review, 6(4): 293–319.

• Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching.EducationalResearcher, 15(2), 4-14.

• Shulman, L. (1999). Forward. In J. Gess-Newsome & N. Lederman (Eds.),Examining pedagogicalcontent knowledge(pp. 61-77). Dordrecht: Kluwer.

• Sinatra, G. M., & Kardash, C. M. (2004). Teacher candidates’ epistemological beliefs, dispositions and views on teaching as persuasion. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 483–498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.03.001

• Sutton, R. E., Cafarelli, A., Lund, R., Schurdell, D. and Bichsel, S. 1996. A developmental constructivist approach to pre‐service teachers’ ways of knowing. Teaching and Teacher Education, 12(4): 413–427. https://doi.org/10.1016/0742-051X(95)00050-T

• Tatto, M. T. and Coupland, D. B. 2003. “Teacher education and teachers’ beliefs: theoretical and measurement concerns”. In Teacher beliefs and classroom performance: the impact of teacher education, Edited by: Raths, J. and McAninch, A. C. 99–122. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

• Van Driel, J. H., Bulte, A. M. W., & Verloop, N. (2007). The relationships between teachers’ general beliefs about teaching and learning and their domain specific curricular beliefs. Learning and Instruction, 17(2), 156–171.

• Voet, M., & De Wever, B. (2017a). Effects of immersion in inquiry-based learning on student teachers’ educational beliefs. Instructional Science.

• Wallace, C., & Priestley, M. (2011). Teacher beliefs and the mediation of curriculum innova-tion in Scotland: A socio-cultural perspective on professional development and change. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43, 357–381

• Woofolk Hoy, A. W., Davis, H., & Pape, S. (2006). Teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and thinking. In P. A. Alexander & P. H. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 715–737). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

• Yang, F. Y., Chang, C. Y., & Hsu, Y.-S. (2008). Teacher views about constructivist instruction and personal epistemology: A national study in Taiwan. Educational Studies, 34, 527–542.

• Zhao, Y., & Frank, K. A. (2003). Factors affecting technology uses in schools: An ecological perspective. American Educational Research Journal, 40, 807–840.

• Zhao, Y., & Cziko, G. A. (2001). Teacher adoption of technology: A perceptual control theory perspective.

• Yilmaz K, Altinkurt Y, Cokluk O 2011. Developing the educational belief scale: The validity and reliabilitystudy. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice,11(1): 335-350.

• Youn, I. 2000. The culture specificity of epistemological beliefs about learning. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 3: 87–105.