Examining_Teacher_Beliefs

Throughout the past thirty years, research on teacher cognition, teacher knowledge, and teacher beliefs has grown rapidly (Calderhead, 1996). Research has made it clear that teachers come to their teacher education program with preconceived notions and prior beliefs about education, learning, and teaching (Borko & Putnam, 1996). Teacher beliefs can be defined as, “Unconsciously held assumptions about students, classrooms, and the academic material to be taught” (Kagan, 1992, p. 65) as well as, “Psychologically held understandings, premises or propositions about the world that are felt to be true” (Richardson, 1996, p. 103). Teacher beliefs influence the ways in which teachers act in their classroom (Borko & Putnam, 1996). Lortie (1975) presents the idea that teachers come into education already knowing the work place—the classroom, through “apprenticeship of observation”. Numerous hours have been spent in the classroom as the student, and as these students become teachers, they already possess a myriad of experiences that will be taught in the classroom (Holt-Reynolds, 1992; Lortie,1975). These countless hours spent in their future work place formulate the beginning of teachers’ thoughts. These thoughts stand at the core of their future teaching and are an extricable part of their decision making (Goodson, 1992; Theriot & Tice, 2009). Teachers’ prior beliefs affect the way in which they think, act, learn, and shape their practice (Borko & Putnam, 1996; Bullough & Baughman, 1997). Pajares (1992) argues that the study of teachers’ beliefs is imperative and valuable in improving teaching practices. If we believe that studying teachers’ beliefs is valuable, then we are compelled to ask, what influences teachers’ beliefs and how can teachers do to fully expose and examine their own beliefs through the use of life writing' Experience Experiences dramatically influence teachers’ beliefs (Richardson, 1996). Learning and growth are based on meaningful experiences (Dewey, 1938). Richardson (1996) proposes three categories of experiences that influence teachers. These categories are personal experience, experience with schooling and instruction, and experience with formal knowledge. Although these three categories are discussed separately, they are not mutually exclusive and often are studied in congruence with one another. Personal experiences influence teachers’ beliefs. Personal experiences can be described as life events or experiences that influence an individual’s world view (Richardson, 1996). Personal experience may include “Ethnic and socioeconomic background, gender, geographic location, religious upbringing, and life decisions” (Richardson, 1996 p. 105). While studying two teachers, Smith (2008) found that the teachers’ out-of-school experiences greatly influenced the way in which they viewed learning and teaching. The two teachers entered their teacher education program with extremely different out-of-school experiences, which led both teachers to embrace different teaching methods. These individuals’ early life experiences influenced how they believed students learned. Bullough and Baughman (1997) discuss the personal experiences of a teacher (Kerrie) who relates teaching to her personal experiences—that of a mother. She viewed teaching as an extension of mothering, to nurture and care for young people. Throughout Kerrie’s first year of teaching this personal experience as a mother became evident as she “Was sharply focused on serving students” (p. 81). Along with personal experience, experience with schooling and instruction also influence teachers. Richardson (1996) suggests that teachers are greatly affected by their own previous experiences in the classroom and previous schooling is very powerful in shaping teachers. Lortie (1975) states that it is difficult for preservice education to have an impact on teachers as their personal beliefs have become so deeply rooted from their schooling experience. Through a study of 12 student teachers, Calderhead and Robson (1991) concurred, finding that teachers’ school experience is a socializing agent, “Which ‘washes out’ the effects of training” (p. 2). These students were found “To hold particular images of teaching, mostly derived from their experiences in schools as pupils” (p. 1). The particular images of teaching held by these individuals greatly influenced their image of what “good” teaching is. One individual, Harriet, identified in the study remembered her schooling experience with a teacher who shouted quite often and disliked students asking questions, and likewise the images she identified of good teaching was a teacher being extremely patient. Schooling experiences, along with personal experiences have shown to strongly affect teacher beliefs. Experience with formal knowledge is also an experience that influences teachers. Richardson (1996) defines formal knowledge as “Understandings that have been agreed on within a community of scholars as worthwhile and valid” (p. 106). Formal knowledge has two influential aspects, school subjects and pedagogical knowledge. Teachers often gain beliefs about school subjects throughout their own schooling experience. Pedagogical knowledge relates to the practice of teaching and is usually first introduced in teacher education programs (Richardson, 1996). Hollingsworth (1989) studied the influence of prior beliefs on preservice teachers. In her write-up of the first year of a longitudinal study, Hollingsworth found value in cognitive dissonance as influential in aiding teachers in increasing pedagogical knowledge. Clift (1987) found in a case study that Lesley, a secondary English teacher, frequently referred back to her pedagogical knowledge, although she did not believe she had a high level of it. Lesley referred back to her previous learning of classroom management and recalled eight different methods of management that she had studied. With her pedagogical knowledge background, Lesley showed she was able to work with students in a school setting even though she did not believe it was a strength. As life experiences (personal, school, and formal) dramatically alter teachers’ beliefs, Richardson (1996) posits that these experiences must be addressed in order to make a difference and change the core beliefs of teachers. Although according to Richardson (1990), teachers have been viewed as very reluctant to change, this is false and teachers “can and do change” (Bullough & Gitlin, 2001; Richardson, 1990). One way to address life experiences and influence change is through the aid of life writing. Life writing Life writing can be defined as creating a story, a plotline of self that allows individuals to externalize the self. Life writing is a tool to give one’s life “unity or purpose” (McAdams, 1993, p.5). Life writings are very effective in articulating one’s background (Atkinson, 1998). Atkinson (1998) has found that many professions now use life writing to aid in understanding such as, psychologist, sociologists, and anthropologists. Life writing has proven to help individuals understand his or her past, and understanding one’s past can shape the future (Bullough & Gitlin 2001). Bullough and Gitlin state that “To know the past is to know oneself as an individual” (p. 23). A teacher must understand his or her individual past to understand who they are today. A teacher brings with him or her a “Plethora of often unarticulated and unexamined beliefs about schooling, teaching, learning and the self as teacher that require scrutiny” (Bullough & Gitlin 2001 p. 23). These unarticulated beliefs mold and shape a teacher into who he or she is and who he or she will become, by making the past explicit and finding common themes. Bullough & Gitlin continue to say that uncovering and exploring one’s background is “ A means for shaping one’s future as an educator” (p.23). Understanding a teacher’s background aids teachers in improving their practice. Just as life writing can help the individual who is telling the story, life writing can aid the individuals who are hearing or reading the story. Atkinson (1998) discusses that life writing can aid both the writer and the reader four different ways: (a) the psychological function, an unfolding of self, (b) the social function, fostering a sense of community, (c) the mystical-religious function, the mystery of being and (d) the cosmological-philosophical function, a total image of the universe or a world view of our surroundings. Bullough & Baughman (1997) wrote a longitudinal story of changes an individual teacher made (Kerrie) throughout her teaching for others to read it and benefit from. Thus, life writing helps more individuals than just the individual of whom the story is about. We must take into account what Bullough and Baughman (1997) state, “Better schools for children will result only when schools are better places for teachers to learn about teaching and are more supportive of their efforts to improve their practice and enrich lives” (p. xv). As Bullough, Patterson and Mayes (2002) challenge individuals who view teaching as a simple craft, “To re-imagine their own educational experience and reexamine their beliefs about teaching and learning”. It appears that through the use of life writing, teachers will be able to re-imagine their own experiences, which will in turn allow them to expose and examine their beliefs about teaching and learning.