The Experiences and Personal Religious Beliefs of Egyptian Science Teachers as a Framework for Understanding the Shaping and Reshaping of their Beliefs and Practices about Science‐Technology‐Society (STS)

Abstract

This research investigates the role of experience in relation to teachers' beliefs and practices. The study adopted a social-cultural constructivist perspective using an interpretive approach. The research was guided by teachers' interpretations of their experiences related to teaching science through ScienceTechnology-Society (STS) issues. These interpretations are reinterpreted to find meaningful conceptual categories (grounded in the data) from which to build a model to understand the influence of experiences within socio-Islamic culture on teachers' beliefs and practices. Data was collected from ten teachers using interviews and observations. The findings of this study suggest that it was mainly teachers' personal religious beliefs and experiences that shaped their beliefs and practices. The research also led to a model, constructed on the basis of the data analysis, which suggests an explanation of how teachers' personal religious beliefs and experiences influence their beliefs and practices.

Religious Beliefs: A Hidden Variable in the Performance of Science Teachers in the Classroom

“…In the same respect, a recent study by Mansour (2008) produced evidence that personal religious experience is one of the most influential social factors on the experience of science teachers and on gaining new experience or even interpreting these experiences, and that this, in turn, influences teachers' pedagogical beliefs and practices. Mansour (2008) distinguishes between individual religious beliefs that are based on 'Holy scripture and the sayings of God's Prophet' and personal religious beliefs which the individual forms through his/her life experience. Mansour (2008) also maintains that personal religious belief (PRB) was one of the most powerful factors influencing science teachers' performance, arguing that PRB, as a social construct, might have no roots in religion at all.…”

“…Thus, researchers must study the context-specific features of beliefs in terms of the connection of beliefs with other belief systems and contextual issues (Pajares, 1992). In the same respect, a recent study by Mansour (2008) produced evidence that personal religious experience is one of the most influential social factors on the experience of science teachers and on gaining new experience or even interpreting these experiences, and that this, in turn, influences teachers' pedagogical beliefs and practices. Mansour (2008) distinguishes between individual religious beliefs that are based on 'Holy scripture and the sayings of God's Prophet' and personal religious beliefs which the individual forms through his/her life experience.…”

“…These issues pose problems for science teachers, especially in Islamic countries, because of the nature of the conflict between the implications of a scientific study of some of these issues and the Islamic religion. Some other issues may not formally conflict with Islam, but teachers' personal religious beliefs or the way they interpret the Islamic view regarding these controversial issues can create a false contradiction (Mansour, 2008).…”

“…Mansour (2008) distinguishes between individual religious beliefs that are based on 'Holy scripture and the sayings of God's Prophet' and personal religious beliefs which the individual forms through his/her life experience. Mansour (2008) also maintains that personal religious belief (PRB) was one of the most powerful factors influencing science teachers' performance, arguing that PRB, as a social construct, might have no roots in religion at all. He defines PRB as views, opinions, attitudes, and knowledge constructed by a person through interaction with his/her socio-cultural context through his/her life history and interpreted as having their origins in religion.…”

“…Since PRBs are a product of the interactions among all the experiences that the person accumulates, and depend on the sociocultural context in which the individual has been brought up. (Mansour, 2008(Mansour, , p. 1608 In terms of religion as a context of teaching/learning science, there are many challenges for science teachers, especially in Islamic countries. In most cases, the Muslim scientist or a Muslim science teacher is split between his/her profession as a scientist or as a teacher and his/her value system as a believer (Kalin, 2006).…”