Research on teachers' (personal) theories and beliefs and their (practical) knowledge derived from experience, whether held implicitly or stated explicitly as their personal practical theories (PPTs), indicates that such beliefs can influence teachers' classroom practices and, therefore, the opportunities that their students have for learning. This study uses a content analysis of 472 self-reported PPTs collected from 94 prospective teachers to develop a model of categories of beliefs, and describes the relationship between the content and sources of teacher candidates' beliefs, expressed as PPTs. The purpose of this study is to help teacher educators better understand beliefs that teacher candidates bring to their teacher education program as we try to influence their knowledge and practices.
As teacher educators, we have observed that knowledge alone does not lead to the kinds of thoughtful teaching we strive for. Puzzled by differences in the teaching practices of teacher candidates having similar professional knowledge, we explore what might account for these differences. We address what is necessary, beyond traditional forms of professional knowledge, to support the development of thoughtful teachers who are responsive to students and situations. We provide four perspectives, each drawn from areas in which we conduct our research, and suggest a need to move beyond knowledge in teacher education. Our aim is to explore questions about preparing thoughtful teachers and to challenge others to do the same. We postulate that self-knowledge and a sense of agency with the intent of purposefully negotiating personal and professional contexts may be as important, if not more important, than the more traditional conceptions of professional knowledge.
A comprehensive study abroad program is one of the most effective ways to prepare multicultural and global teachers. However, in teacher education, most of the study abroad programs are designed for preservice teachers. In this study, we detailed the design of a shortterm study abroad program for inservice teachers and reported on the impact of the program not only on teachers' intercultural competence development, but also their teaching beliefs and practices. Discussions and implications were provided for educators designing study abroad programs for teachers.
In an effort to combine pre-service teachers' self-reflection with their field experiences to enhance their cultural competency, this study adopted Schmidt's ABC's (Autobiography, Biography, and Cross-cultural Comparison) Model in two courses in a pre-service teacher education program. Through group comparisons, this study measured the impact that self-reflection combining autobiography, field experiences involving the writing of student biographies, and field-based reflection focused on conducting cross-cultural comparisons had on the development of pre-service teachers' cultural competency. The results of the study illustrated the discomforts pre-service teachers experience in working with diverse student populations and documented the impact of the ABC's model on participants' cultural awareness development.
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