Personal beliefs about learning and teaching: Comparison of student teachers in the sciences and humanities at different stages of their studies

Abstract

The present project deals with teachers' beliefs as implicit, steady assumptions about learning and teaching and especially with `participation', as the least investigated. This exploratory study analyzes (1) the representation of beliefs regarding `participation' in student teachers' views, the impact (2) of the stage of their studies, and (3) of their discipline studied on the beliefs. Student teachers were interviewed regarding their views on learning and teaching (N = 30). The content analysis shows different multifaceted beliefs. The results reveal an alteration in the beliefs during the studies: At the beginning there is a `transmissive- emotional' focusing which changes progressively to a more cognitive focus including `construction' and `participation', and still `transmission'. Furthermore, the internal structure of `participation' in the views of the interviewees does not correspond with the theoretical concept. On the basis of these results the possibility of developing a questionnaire for closer investigation of `participation' is being discussed.