ERIC Number: EJ1309845
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1941-5257
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Bridging the Belief-Action Gap in a Teachers' Professional Learning Community on Teaching of Thinking
Professional Development in Education, v47 n5 p729-744 2021
This study aims at exploring the influence of The "Alliance of Thinking Schools," a multi-regional, researcher-practitioner partnered teachers' "professional learning community" (PLC) on the teaching of thinking in China, on bridging teachers' "belief-action gap." Specifically, this study aims to investigate the relationships between teachers' "beliefs about learning," "participation in the PLC," "engagement in learning," and "engagement in practice." A total of 478 teachers from 39 schools participated in this study. A questionnaire adapted from existing studies and verified with confirmatory factor analysis was sent to these teachers. Structural Equation Model revealed that: (a) teachers' "beliefs about learning" had no significant direct effects on their "engagement in learning," but had significant indirect effects mediated by their "participation in the PLC"; (b) teachers' beliefs about learning had significant effects on their engagement in practice, both directly and mediated by their participation in the PLC; and (c) teachers' "engagement in practice" had significant direct effects on their "engagement in learning," but cannot be reversed. The findings of this study confirmed the existence of a "belief-action gap" in teacher' continuing learning with empirical evidence. The findings also revealed that a well-accepted PLC could help to bridge this gap. Implications for teachers' continuing learning were discussed.
Descriptors: Faculty Development, Communities of Practice, Factor Analysis, Teacher Attitudes, Structural Equation Models, Thinking Skills, Teaching Methods, Learning Processes, Educational Practices, Foreign Countries, Goodness of Fit, Teacher Characteristics, Elementary School Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, High School Teachers
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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