Navigating the Landscape of Teachers’ Beliefs: Where’s the View and What’s the Purpose?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 95
  In Roundtable Session: The Varied Terrain of Teacher Beliefs: Exploration and Development

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between teachers’ educational purposes, including their goals and beliefs, and whether they either subscribe to or adapt mandated curricular materials. The first interview was conducted to ascertain curricular stance either adapting or subscribing to district mandated curricula (Adapter or Subscriber). In the second interview illustrative extremes embedded with references to either narrow or broad educational purposes were presented to participants, and their comments were coded to determine a broadness score which relates to supporting higher-level thinking. In regards to educational purpose, it was found that Adapter participants tend to have higher broadness scores than Subscribers.

Author

• Heidi J. Stevenson, University of the Pacific