Effects of Teaching Experiences and School Contexts on the Development of Teacher Beliefs and Motivation: A Longitudinal Study in Germany, Taiwan, and the United States

• In Event: 31.020 - From Preparation to Practice: An International Study of Teacher Preparation and Practice in Three Countries

Abstract

Ever since the groundbreaking review of Veenman (1984), it has been assumed that serious drawbacks happen to the development of teachers during their first years in the profession. Veenman had stated that beginning teachers experienced a “shock” being confronted with the complex reality in the classroom. Among others, the teachers’ sense of self-efficacy decreased and their beliefs changed from student-oriented towards teacher-centered. As major problems of beginning teachers, Veenman (1984) identified classroom management as a generic challenge as well as dealing with heterogeneity and student assessment when teaching the content.
Research questions and significance of the study
Veenman’s review and following studies relied mainly on data gathered within one national context only. Thus, a research gap exists regarding comparative studies in which the same instruments were applied in several countries at the same time so that the generalizability of such findings across different contexts can be examined. Furthermore, most of the studies relied on cross-sectional studies. Thus, another serious research gap exists with respect to longitudinal data. Finally, the teachers work in very different school contexts but it is widely unknown which effects these have on their beliefs and motivation.
The present talk attempts to address these research gaps by examining the following research questions: How do teacher beliefs and motivation in Germany, Taiwan and the United states develop during their first years in the profession? Which effects does the school context and the different teaching experiences have on this development? Occupational research indicates that the leadership quality and the climate are particularly relevant.

Authors

• Sigrid Blömeke, University of Oslo

• Richard T. Houang, Michigan State University

• Feng-Jui Hsieh, National Taiwan Normal University

• Ting Ying Wang, National Taiwan Normal University