Cultural Education: epistemological beliefs of teachers.

• In Event: Division H Vice President International Symposium: Epistemic Beliefs in Education: How Knowledge and Knowing Shape Teacher Practice Across Disciplines

Abstract

Increasing migration has made societies more diverse, affecting schools and presenting both opportunities and challenges, particularly in cultural education within the humanities (e.g., English, History, Ethics). Schools are evolving into transnational educational spaces (Adick, 2018), where cultural differences require teachers to navigate “cultural interferences” (Reckwitz, 2001). Teachers need professional knowledge in cultural epistemology and must reflect on their own epistemological beliefs about the "nature of knowledge" (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997). Research shows that humanities teachers struggle with achieving objectivity in interpretations and teaching tolerance for ambiguity (Borgstede & Rau, 2023). This study explores how teachers manage diverse interpretations and competing validity claims in the humanities. Group discussions with 78 German humanities teachers were analyzed using the documentary method (Bohnsack, 2010).

Author

• Caroline Rau, University of Bamberg