ERIC Number: EJ1171781
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2154-6282
EISSN: N/A
Deconstructing Pre-Service Teachers' Field Experience Narratives: The Role of Epistemological Beliefs
Bays, Rebecca B.; Ashong, Carol; Ward, Teresa E.; Commander, Nannette E.
i.e.: inquiry in education, v5 n1 Article 4 2014
Teacher development programs incorporate field experiences for pre-service teachers (PTs) to gain first hand teaching experiences. The purpose of this study is to examine PTs' perceptions of field experiences, and more specifically, to investigate whether these perceptions relate to PTs epistemological beliefs. A sample of 115 undergraduate educational psychology students completed the Epistemological Beliefs Inventory (EBI) and a Field Experience Questionnaire. Results indicated that PTs' beliefs about teaching and learning influenced their perception of teaching. Students holding more sophisticated epistemological beliefs, as measured by the EBI, reported more positive perceptions of field experiences, while students holding more naïve epistemological beliefs focused on negative classroom issues such as behavior management. Results inform designers of field experiences on how to better prepare PTs for student teaching and underline the importance of efforts to foster more mature epistemological outlooks in developing teachers.
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Field Experience Programs, Personal Narratives, Beliefs, Teacher Education Programs, Educational Strategies, Educational Psychology, Undergraduate Students, Student Surveys, Qualitative Research, Teaching Methods, Epistemology, Questionnaires
Center for Practitioner Research at National Louis University. 122 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60603. Tel: 800-443-5522 x2277; e-mail: digitalcommons@nl.edu; Web site: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Georgia (Atlanta)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A