This example shows that the teacher‘s interpretation of the event may be based on what the teacher knows, what the teacher believes, or what the teacher believes
she knows. In this study, knowledge is inseparably intertwined with beliefs. Thus, no
attempt has been made to distinguish between the two concepts.
c. The Origins of Teachers’ Beliefs
The teacher cognition literature has identified a number of sources which influenced on teachers‘ beliefs. They are:
1
Teachers‟ personal experiences and understandings This source contributes a significant ways to the development of
teach ers‘ personalities which in turn influences the development of hisher
beliefs. Richard and Lockhart 1994:31 described an extroverted teacher with an outgoing personality who believed in the use of drama in teaching
conversational skills. In this case, personality had a direct relationship with a belief about teaching.
2
Teachers‟ experience with schooling and instructions It is often mentioned that teachers‘ learning experiences in their own
classrooms function as an ―apprenticeship of observation‖. Ibid … :160 mentioned that after spending ―10,000 hours in classrooms‖ as students,
teachers often hold strong views about what they want to be and what to do in teaching. At the same time, teachers‘ teaching experiences in their own
classrooms allow them to experience what methods or techniques work best in perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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their contexts, thus helping them to develop particular pedagogical beliefs Richardson, 1996.
3
Teachers‟ formal knowledge acquired through professional training This knowledge includes teachers‘ understanding of the nature of
subject matter and how students learn it, and teachers‘ experience of classroom management, models of teaching, classroom environment, and so on. Formal
knowledge has a powerful impact on teachers‘ thinking, e.g. how best to approach the teaching of a second language, whether to adopt teacher-fronted
instruction or to use small group work. It is likely that a professionally trained teacher with formal knowledge of subject matter and of teaching may have
beliefs that are quite different from an untrained teacher without this knowledge.
4 Teacher education
Mellado 1998 mentioned that teacher education aims to foster the processes of teacher change and development. Grossman‘s 1990 study of six
English teachers provides evidence for this. Three of the teachers, who had attended a professional course, shared similar views about teaching, e.g.
helping students to bring in their own experience in understanding literature and using a process approach to writing. All three teachers attributed their
beliefs to the input they had received from teacher education. The other three teachers had no professional training and were found to have widely different
conceptions of teaching. Thus, despite any limitations of teacher education, it does provide an
important source of teachers‘ personal theories. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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5
Teachers‟ context of work It plays a critical role in shaping the teachers‘ philosophy of teaching
and instructional approaches. Experienced teachers in a school often exert influence on new teachers to conform to their teaching norm. Constraints of the
teaching context such as heavy teaching load, large class size, low student motivation, and lack of classroom discipline may also pressure teachers away
from the beliefs which they have acquired on teacher education courses towards a more traditional view of teaching and learning Pennington
Richards, 1997. In short, the school environment influence on teachers‘ beliefs.
d. The Content of Teachers’ Beliefs
