Pre-service and in-service teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning chemistry in Turkey

Al-Amoush S., Usak M., ERDOĞAN M., MARKIC S., Eilks I.

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION, vol.36, no.4, pp.464-479, 2013 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 36 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2013
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/02619768.2013.807793
  • Journal Name: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.464-479
  • Keywords: chemistry education, teachers' and student-teachers' beliefs, teacher education, STUDENT-TEACHERS, 1ST YEAR, SCIENCE TEACHERS, EDUCATION, VIEWS
  • Akdeniz University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This paper describes beliefs held about teaching and learning chemistry by Turkish teachers and student-teachers. The study investigated different aspects of pre-service and in-service teachers' belief structures. Part of the study examined teachers' overall beliefs, based on participants' drawings of classroom situations. A qualitative evaluation was employed to offer information on (student-)teachers' beliefs about classroom organisation, their beliefs about teaching objectives, and their stance on epistemological beliefs. Beliefs ranged from very traditional, teacher-centred ideas to modern, student-centred ones. Data evaluation was triangulated using a quantitative approach, which focused on whether beliefs were characterised by either teacher-centredness or learner-centredness. Additionally, a Likert questionnaire was used to evaluate the educators` beliefs about the nature of good education. The results for the group of participants are presented and compared. Implications for chemistry teacher education in Turkey will also be addressed.