Pre-service Teacher Definition of Terms
9 teachers’ beliefs are the bases of how teachers think and do something. There are
many different kinds of beliefs which are held by teachers. For instance, beliefs about knowledge, the students, the subject matter, how to teach, and also about
moral, ethical, and societal issues Fives Gill, 2015, p. 48. Those are only some ex
amples of teachers’ beliefs. There are many other beliefs which are held by teachers simultaneously.
According to Pajares 1992, teachers’ beliefs are the key indicators of teachers’ perceptions and judgment, and it affects their teaching practices p. 307.
Teachers’ belief systems, such as attitudes, values, expectations, theories and assumptions about teaching and learning, are considered as primary sources of
teachers’ classroom practices Shinde Karekatti, 2012, p. 73. Therefore, teachers’ beliefs are central to determining their actual behavior towards students
Xu, 2012, p. 1397. On the other hand, findings of other research have led researchers to conclude that teachers’ beliefs are not related or are disconnected,
or inconsistent with classroom practices Fives Gill, 2015, p. 70. One of the studies is conducted by Liu in 2011. She conducted a study of 1.340 elementary
school teachers. The study found out that although 79 of teachers held learner- centered beliefs, the majority of them are reported lecturing instead of using more
constructivist practices with technology as cited in Fives Gill, 2015, p. 70. After reviewing many researches from 2008-2012, Fives and Gill 2015
identify internal and external factors that either support or impede teachers to espouse their beliefs in practice pp. 74-
90. The first internal factor is teachers’ other beliefs Fives Gill, 2015, p. 75. As previously stated, teachers hold
10 beliefs in
many different things in their life. Those aspects of teachers’ own belief systems can either facilitate or impede the enactment of beliefs into practices
Fives Gill, 2015, p. 75. The second factor is knowledge Fives Gill, 2015, p. 76. In order to enact their beliefs, teachers should have the necessary
knowledge Fives Gill, 2015, p. 76. Some researchers find out that teachers do not act on their beliefs because they lack of knowledge of the content and the
pedagogy of how to implement the instructional practices that will align with their beliefs Fives Gill, 2015, p. 76. The third factor is self-awareness and self-
reflection. Fives and Gill further explain that “the extent to which teachers are self-aware and engage in self-reflection are other factors related to the alignment
between t eachers’ beliefs and practices.” Thus, teachers need to be aware and
reflect on the appropriateness of their beliefs and practices. Furthermore, there are external factors which influence the enactment of
tea chers’ beliefs in practices. The first factor is classroom-context. Classroom
factors such as students’ ability and attitudes, classroom management, and class size present challenges to teachers in enacting their beliefs. Moreover, those
factors force teachers to find ways to practice even though there are obstacles Fives Gill, 2015, p. 76. The next factor is school-context which is similar to
classroom context. Administration, parental support, colleagues, and available resources in schools may become school-context barriers. However, Bullock
2010 states that the most important aspect is how teachers perceive those potential barriers to practice as cited in Fives Gill, 2015, p. 77. The last factor
is national-context Fives Gill, 2015, p. 78. In this context, educational policies