Changes in the Beliefs of the Prospective Teachers on Knowledge, Learning and Teaching in a Social Constructivist Teaching Setting Applied

Abstract

Epistemological beliefs are the individuals' point of view on what is knowledge, how to accumulate it, defining its boundaries and identifying the criteria. This study aims to investigate whether there is a change in the beliefs of the prospective teachers related to knowledge, learning and teaching in a social constructive teaching setting.The research has been conducted with 119 prospective teachers. This study is a semi-experimental one conducted with pretest and post-test without a control group. Data has been collected with 'Epistemological Belief on Learning and Teaching' scale developed by Ching Sing Chai, Timothy Teo and Chwee Beng Lee. The findings indicated a positive change in the beliefs of the candidates about relative knowledge and a visible decrease in the beliefs about absolute knowledge. Also, learning environment significantly affected the beliefs of the prospective teachers about relative knowledge. The results have proven that there occurred changes on the beliefs of prospective teachers' knowledge, learning and teaching.

Analysis of Variables that Affect Teaching Learning Approaches and Epistemological Beliefs of Pre-Service Teachers by Structural Equation Model

“…It is seen that all attempts aimed at developing teacher candidates" epistemological beliefs do not have the same effect, while some attempts" effect fails to satisfy, some attempts are more successful (Demir, Bay, Bagceci, Vural, & Avcı, 2015;Lahtinen & Pehkonen, 2013;Valanides & Angeli, 2005). It can be said that teacher candidates oriented attempts in the first years are more effective on the maturation of epistemological beliefs (Lahtinen & Pehkonen, 2013).…”

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“…Also, there are arguments that little is known about the relationship between epistemological views of the world of teachers, as view related to teachers' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and the process of learning, and teaching practice (Shrow & Olafson, 2003). Strong contextual influences such as external examination syllabi (Lam & Kember, 2006), or a teaching environment that changes teachers' beliefs (Demir, Erdal, Bagceci, Vural, & Müjdat, 2015) are highlighted as causes that can lead to a complete separation between teachers' concepts and approaches.…”