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The Influence of Methods Instruction on the Beliefs of Preservice Elementary and Secondary Science Teachers: Preliminary Comparative Analyses
Author(s) -
CroninJones Linda,
Shaw Edward L.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
school science and mathematics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.135
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 1949-8594
pISSN - 0036-6803
DOI - 10.1111/j.1949-8594.1992.tb12131.x
Subject(s) - curriculum , citation , mathematics education , library science , sociology , psychology , computer science , pedagogy
For many years, researchers and teachers have highlighted the many striking differences between content area knowledge of teachers and teaching practices of elementary and secondary teachers. In addition, numerous studies have compared the instructional repertories and effectiveness of teachers at the elementary and secondary levels. Researchers and practitioners have also begun to acknowledge the important influence that teachers' beliefs have on different aspects of the teaching/learning process. In this study, the beliefs of pre-service elementary and secondary science teachers before and after a science methods course, and the changes in those beliefs during this time were investigated. The belief structures of the elementary and secondary teachers before and after the methods course were compared and analyzed. Results indicated that: (1) the belief structures of elementary teachers were more simplistic than those of secondary teachers; (2) there was no typical pre-service teacher belief structure; (3) pre-service teachers already possessed some knowledge about teaching and had an organized belief structure regarding teaching when they entered the methods instruction; and (4) the primary area of concern for most teachers centered around students and the second most dominant area of concern centered around the task of teaching. (CW) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Influence of Methods Instruction on Pre-Service Elementary and Secondary Science Teachers' Beliefs "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Office of E ucationai Research and Improvement MUG IONAL RESOURCES I Edward L. Shaw, Jr. NFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) received from the person or organization his document has been reproduced as CeZ originating it (3 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality CD POMISOIVIOW or opinionsstated in this docu. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy CO rot Edward L. Shaw, Jr. Early Childhood and Elementary Education College of Education The University of South Alabama Mobile, Alabama 36688