Educational Beliefs of Higher Education Teachers and Students: Implications for Teacher Education

Australian Journal of Teacher Education Volume 34 Issue 3 Article 3 6-1-2009 Educational Beliefs of Higher Education Teachers and Students: Implications for Teacher Education Maria Northcote University of Newcastle Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Northcote, M. (2009). Educational Beliefs of Higher Education Teachers and Students: Implications for Teacher Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 34(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2009v34n3.3 This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol34/iss3/3 Australian Journal of Teacher Education Educational Beliefs of Higher Education Teachers and Students: Implications for Teacher Education Maria Northcote University of Newcastle Abstract: This paper begins by acknowledging the established and powerful link between educational beliefs and the teaching and learning practices of teaches and students. Based on this belief-practice connection, the paper documents the findings of a study that investigated the beliefs of a group of higher education teachers and students, most of whom were teaching and learning in a teacher education context. The paper concludes with a set of practical suggestions for university teachers and students involved in teacher education courses. The suggestions have been constructed by considering the messages from past literature and by drawing on the findings of the study reported in this paper. These recommended practical applications are expressed in terms of how they have been applied to a specific teacher education context. Introduction All teachers and students hold a range of beliefs – whether they are beliefs about religion, education, health, politics or a multitude of other topics. When combined, teachers’ and students’ beliefs about teaching and learning are often referred to as educational beliefs. Educational beliefs have been investigated for their application in practical teaching and learning situations. The articulation and application of these beliefs has been the focus of many educational research studies in past years, although many of these studies have investigated teachers’ beliefs separately from students’ beliefs. Nevertheless, the results of these studies have implications for teaching and learning practice. Studies of educational beliefs tend to be typified by discussions and debates about how teaching and learning practices are influenced by educational beliefs and, conversely, how these beliefs are influenced by practice. This belief -practice relationship is central to the study outlined in this paper. The literature To inform the design and implementation of the study, a literature review was conducted which documented how research into the educational beliefs of teachers and students, especially in higher education contexts and teacher education courses, had been approached in the past. This literature review revealed two main messages: that there is extensive evidence of the strong link between educational beliefs and educational practice; and that more research is required into the intersection between teachers’ and students’ beliefs, and beliefs about teaching and learning. The strength of the beliefs-practice relationship has been documented by a range of researchers (for example, Archer, 1999; Dart et al., 2000; Prosser & Trigwell, 1997) with some especially focusing on the context of teacher education (for example, Brownlee, 2003; Graber, 1996; Tatto, 1996). Findings from such studies have implications for course design processes, as well as teaching and learning practices. These studies suggest that: 1. in terms of course design, the beliefs-practice nexus should be addressed by placing practical skill development alongside activities which encourage students to regularly Vol 34, 3, June 2009 69 Australian Journal of Teacher Education reflect on their educational beliefs (Cronin-Jones, 1991; Kember, Kwan, & Ledesma, 2001); 2. teachers’ practical experiences can influence their beliefs in general ways (Greene & Zimmerman, 2000; McKenzie, 1996; Schuh, Walker, Kizzie, & Mohammed, 2001); 3. teachers’ beliefs inform their use of specific instructional strategies that, in turn, impact on the quality of student learning (Biggs & Moore, 1993; Chapman, Ramondt, & Smiley, 2005; Chapple, 1999; Entwistle, McCune, & Hounsell, 2002); 4. teachers’ practical approaches to teaching and their teaching intentions were directly influenced by their conceptions of teaching (Kember & Kwan, 2000; Norton, Richardson, Hartley, Newstead, & Mayes, 2005); and 5. students’ educational beliefs impact on their own learning practices (Archer, Bourke, & Cantwell, 1996; Dart et al., 2000; Johnston, 2001; Kember & Wong, 2000; Taylor, 1996). These findings indicate that teachers’ and students’ practical approaches to teaching and learning are linked to their educational beliefs, and vice versa. Such findings also signify the value of considering such relationships when designing courses. This complex network of teachers’ and students’ beliefs and practices is represented in Figure 1. Teachers’ educational beliefs Students’ educational beliefs Teachers’ practical approaches to teaching Students’ practical approaches to learning Figure 1: Network of Teachers’ and Students’ Educational Beliefs and Practices Despite the strong link between practice and beliefs, based on overwhelming evidence from research studies which suggest that this link is vitally important in terms of the quality of teaching and learning, the relevance of educational theory and beliefs in teacher education courses has been scrutinised by the wider community (Ministerial Council on Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs, 2003; The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, 2007). Also, the place of theory and educational beliefs is often questioned by those enrolled in such courses with cries such as “just tell us what to do”. In addition to highlighting the link between educational beliefs and practice, literature in this field indicated that the educational beliefs about teaching and learning held by higher education teachers and students have been examined in isolation from each other. The literature review found that many studies had already investigated teachers’ beliefs (Driel, Bulte, & Verloop, 2007; Kember, 1997; Samuelowicz & Bain, 1992, 2001; 2002, to name a few) and students’ beliefs (Calderhead, 1996; Chalmers & Fuller, 1999; Eklund-Myrskog, 1998; Schommer-Aikins, 2008, to name a few) but such investigations were usually conducted in isolation from each other. Similarly, another set of studies were found that had investigated either beliefs about teaching and teachers (for example, Åkerlind, 2004; Berliner, 1989; Kember et al., 2001) or beliefs about learning and students (for example, Archer et al., 1996; Chapple, 1999; Dart et al., 2000; Forrester-Jones, 2003). Ho (...truncated)