Pedagogical Content Knowledge in French: Development and Relation With Content Knowledge and General Pedagogical Knowledge

• In Event: Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Foreign Language Teachers: Conceptualizations and Empirical Findings Across Different Domains

Abstract

Objectives & framework
Several studies have shown a positive relation between CK and PCK, concluding that CK is a necessary, though not sufficient prerequisite for PCK (Baumert et al., 2010). While a lot is known about PCK in the field of mathematics, research on CK and PCK in foreign languages, as well as on the relation between (1) CK and PCK and (2) GPK and PCK is mainly lacking. Furthermore, there is limited knowledge on how these knowledge categories develop during teacher education (Krauss et al., 2008).
This paper studies the relation between pre-service teachers’ French PCK (FPCK), French CK (FCK) and GPK, as well as their development during teacher education (TE), focusing on three research questions: (RQ1) What is the relation between pre-service teachers’ FPCK, FCK and GPK?, (RQ2) Are there differences in FPCK, FCK and GPK performances between first and second year pre-service teachers?, (RQ3) What is the effect of prior learning opportunities in French (FPLOs) on pre-service teachers’ FPCK, FCK and GPK?

Methods & data
Three tests were developed. The FPCK instrument was based on Shulman’s components; knowledge on students’ misconceptions and educational representations. The items focused on the domains vocabulary, grammar and oral interaction. The GPK instrument focused on lesson goals, student characteristics, teaching methods, classroom management and evaluation. The FCK instrument contained items on vocabulary and grammar. Participants’ FPLOs were operationalized through the number of hours of French they had in the last year of secondary education.
320 pre-service primary school teachers from two Flemish TE institutions participated. In this paper preliminary results of one TE institution are provided (i.e., 83 first year and 45 second year students). The results of the full dataset will be presented at the conference.

Results
Regarding RQ1 a strong correlation between FPCK and FCK was found (r=.54, p<.001). Furthermore, moderate correlations were found between FPCK and GPK (r=.27, p=.002) and FCK and GPK (r=.43, p<.001).
Using t-tests (RQ2) we found that for all three knowledge categories second year students significantly outperformed the first year students (see Table 1).

Table 1. Results of the t-tests comparing the first and second year students on FPCK, GPK and FCK.

1st year 2nd year
M SD M SD t df p Cohen’s d
PCK 46.24 14.85 56.00 18.32 -3.24 123 .002 -.58
PK 64.79 7.30 69.56 8.55 -3.17 111 .002 -.50
CK 57.05 13.75 63.41 12.02 -2.28 84 .025 -.60

Linear regression analysis (RQ3) with standardized dependent variables and standardized scores for FPLOs as predictor revealed that FPLOs significantly predicted PCK scores (B=.19, SE=.08, p=.02) and CK scores (B = .31, SE = .10, p=.003), but did not significantly predict PK scores (B =.13, SE=.09, p=.12).

Significance
This study is one of the first to empirically study PCK in the context of foreign languages. The results show that pre-service teachers’ FPCK is correlated with FCK and GPK, that Flemish TE succeeds in promoting these knowledge categories in students during their first two years, and that FPLOs have an effect on FPCK and FCK.

Authors

• Marie Evens, K.U. Leuven

• Jan M. Elen, KU Leuven

• Fien Depaepe, University of Leuven