The Relationships Among Implicit Theories of Intelligence, Epistemological Beliefs, and Teaching Practices of In-Service Teachers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Strategies to Improve Career and Technical Education Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Teachers’ beliefs reflect the nature of the instructional strategies they employ while teaching. Therefore, this mixed methods study examined the role in-service teachers’ beliefs play when making instructional decisions. Quantitative data were collected from 292 Career and Technical Education teachers using the Theories of Intelligence scale and the Epistemic Belief Inventory. Participants also rated how frequently they used teacher-centered and student-centered teaching practices. In the second phase, qualitative data were collected from nine participants for an in-depth exploration of how teachers’ beliefs are related to the teaching practices they use. Our findings show teachers’ epistemological beliefs are correlated with the teaching practices they use and that teaching discipline was the best predictor of teaching practices.

Authors

• Cory M. Epler, Nebraska Department of Education

• Thomas Broyles, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University