Cheng 2009

Guide
-Outline in BLUE with my notes in red of things to look out for.
-Then the full text of the article with notes to the side and some bolded and highlighted parts
>Read the introduction and then parts with stars next to them
Color Key:
Sources: Highlighted in Blue
Important Points
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
12:58 PM
 
-look at other articles to see how epistemological beliefs/theories are separated/ defined--> distinct from views of
teaching and learning or inseperable? Do we need to address this issue?
 
FULL TEXT:
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Teaching and Teacher Education Font Size:

Volume 25, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 319-327
  

doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.09.018    

Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

 
Pre-service teacher education students' epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of teaching
May M.H. Cheng

, a,

, Kwok-Wai Chana,

, Sylvia Y.F. Tanga,

and Annie Y.N. Chenga,

aThe Hong Kong Institute of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China

Received 14 May 2008; 

revised 25 September 2008; 
accepted 29 September 2008. 
Available online 17 November 2008.
 
Abstract
 
A study using both quantitative and qualitative methods was conducted in the final year of a Bachelor of Education
programme to examine the student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching.
 
The results show that most of the student-teachers (i) strongly believed that learning effort was more important
than innate ability, (ii) strongly believed that knowledge changes, and (iii) were inclined to question the authority of
knowledge. Although student-teachers who had sophisticated or mixed epistemological beliefs tended to believe in
constructivist or mixed conceptions of teaching as predicted, inconsistent cases were identified. Implications for
teacher education programmes are discussed.
 
Keywords: Epistemological beliefs;Knowledge acquisition; Beliefs; Conceptions of teaching; Pre-service teachers;
Teaching strategies
 
Article Outline (with Katy's Notes)
1. Introduction
-Pajares 1992 Summary
 
 
2. Epistemological beliefs (beliefs about knowledge and knowing)
-what they are/ how defined in this study
-lit review of major work
-not as relevant as conceptions for our purposes
 
3. Conceptions of teaching
-define
-view of paper=there are two major conceptions of teaching and learning: traditional and constructivist, which
provide "a contrast of conceptions of teaching and learning which may also be seen as either ends of a
continuum with varying conceptual understandings in between."
-traditional corresponds with "teacher-centred approach" while constructivism corresponds with a "student
centred approach"
 
4. Relationship between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching and learning
- studies suggest a relationship between students' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of learning,
associating sophisticated beliefs with reflective abilities, and naïve beliefs with passive learning
-Chan and Elliott's (2004b) study found that there was a possible influence of the four epistemological beliefs
on the two conceptions about teaching and learning as expressed in the path model shown in Fig. 1.
 
5. Method -to address the 2 research questions (p 321)
-Figure 1: Path Model: depicts possible influence of the 4 epistemological beliefs on the two conceptions of
teaching and learning
 
5.1. Quantitative method: instrument and participants
-questionnaire survey was administered to the student-teachers
-uses framework developed by Chan and Elliot 2004 and their 2 scales of measurement, 1 of
which measures epistemological beliefs and the other which measures conceptions of teaching
and learning**
-4 dimensions of epistemological beliefs
o Innate/fixed ability
o Learning effort/process
o Authority/expert knowledge
o Certainty knowledge
-2 conceptions of teaching and learning:
a. The constructivist
b. The traditional
 
5.2. Qualitative method: instrument and participants (p322)
- used Nvivo
***description of how they organized the data from interview transcriptions and developed coding
categories (used iterative process and considered relevant literature + interview data)
 
5.3. Relating the quantitative and qualitative findings
 
6. Analysis (p 322)
6.1. Findings in terms of epistemological beliefs
 
6.1.1. Learning effort is more important than innate ability

6.1.2. Questioning authority

  
6.1.3. Knowledge changes
 
6.2. Findings in terms of conceptions of teaching ***
-the questions about conceptions of teaching are what most closely match up with what we're
interested in with the VOTL
 
6.2.1. Constructivist conception of teaching (adopting student-centred teaching strategies)

6.2.2. Combination of traditional and constructivist conceptions (adopting both teacher-centred and
student-centred teaching strategies)
 
6.3. The relationship between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching
 
6.3.1. Sophisticated epistemological beliefs, but mixed conceptions of teaching (type C)
 
6.3.2. Mixed epistemological beliefs, but possessing constructivist conceptions of teaching (type D)
 
7. Discussion and conclusion
 
7.1. Explanation for epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching
 
7.2. Explanation for the inconsistencies between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching
 
7.3. Implications for teacher education programmes

7.4. Further study

-overlap with some of the things we've talked about
 
Appendix. Appendix
Interview questions are as follows
 
References
 
 
 
 
1. Introduction
Much has been written about student1 beliefs about the nature of knowledge ([Hofer and Pintrich, 1997],
[Schommer-Aikins, 2004] and [Schommer, 1994]) and also the nature of teaching and learning (e.g. Richardson
& Placier, 2001).
 
The beliefs about the nature of knowledge are often referred to as epistemological beliefs ([Hofer and Pintrich,
1997] and [Schommer-Aikins, 2004]).
 
In the current literature, there has been an expansion of the framework of epistemological beliefs to include beliefs
about the nature of knowledge and knowledge acquisition (knowing) ([Hofer and Pintrich, 1997], [Schommer-
Aikins, 2004] and [Schommer, 1994]).
 
Recently, research on epistemological beliefs has been extended to the beliefs of pre-service and in-service
teachers (e.g. [Chan and Elliott, 2002], [Chan and Elliott, 2004a], [Chan and Elliott, 2004b] and [Richardson and
Placier, 2001]).
An essential question underpinning most of this recent research is the extent to which teacher education
programmes affect deep cognitive changes in teachers-in-training and the extent to which any changes
influence the behaviour of teachers in their classrooms.
 
Educators and researchers often argue that teachers' beliefs and value systems will shape their conceptions
and practical theories in classroom teaching, eventually influencing their instructional strategies and
performance in the classroom.
 
 
Pajares (1992) has noted that it is difficult to change pre-service teachers' beliefs unless these pervasive ideas are
substantially challenged during programme implementation. Conceptions about the nature of knowledge and
teaching and learning are formed through many years of exposure to educational practices, in both the narrow
(teacher specific) and broader (system-wide) senses (So, Cheng, Fong, Ng, & Tang, 2001).
Indeed, Bruner (1996) used the term “folk pedagogies” to describe the beliefs that individuals develop about
teaching and learning.
To change such teacher beliefs is a challenge, particularly in Hong Kong in an era of educational reform where the
emphasis is on learner engagement, self-regulation and independent learning. The literature is divided in terms of
bringing about changes in pre-service teacher beliefs, with some research showing changes (e.g. Winitzky &
Kauchak, 1997), and some not (e.g. Tillema & Knol, 1997).
 
Recent work by Torff (2005) on teacher beliefs about critical thinking showed students entering teacher education
programmes believing in encouraging critical thinking. However, those who were nearing the end of their pre-
service programmes were less likely to have such strong beliefs.
 
The preparation of prospective teachers to engage in effective classroom practices is critical to the quality of
school education. Korthagen's (2004) six-level ‘onion model’ illuminates our understanding that factors influencing
teaching be visualized as an ‘onion model’ representing various levels from the outermost to the innermost shells,
namely, environment, behaviour, competencies, beliefs, identity and mission (Korthagen, 2004). The different
levels of change are interconnecting and influencing each other (Korthagen, 2004). When applied to the teacher
education context, student-teachers' beliefs are one of the variables affecting student-teachers' classroom
practices at the behaviour level.
The extent to which initial teacher education programs can impact on student-teachers' beliefs and hence their
classroom practices is a concern in teacher education.
Along this line of thinking, this paper presents a study on student-teachers'2 epistemological beliefs and the
relationships of such beliefs with their conceptions of teaching. It attempts to enrich our conceptual understanding
of student-teachers' beliefs, and generate insights for reviewing the impact that teacher education programs might
have on them.
 
2. Epistemological beliefs (beliefs about knowledge and knowing)
The pioneer work in this area is the study by (Schommer, 1990) and (Schommer, 1994) who proposed a
multidimensional framework of epistemological beliefs consisting of five dimensions, viz. ‘omniscient authority’,
‘certain knowledge’, ‘simple knowledge’, ‘quick learning’ and ‘fixed/innate ability’. An empirical study by Schommer
(1990) using a 63-item questionnaire to examine the epistemological beliefs of undergraduates in the United
States could only identify four factors, leaving the omniscient authority dimension unextracted.
 
Further studies in this area have suggested that epistemological beliefs are related to academic performance
(Schommer, 1993), meta-cognitive variables of learning (see review by [Chan, 2006] and [Chan, 2008]) such as
reading comprehension ([Kardash and Scholes, 1996] and [Schommer, 1990]), learning strategies ([Cano, 2005]
and [Chan, 2003]), conceptual changes (Qian & Alvermann, 2000) and problem solving in mathematics, etc.
([Schoenfeld, 1985] and [Schommer et al., 1992]).
 
(Chan and Elliott, 2002) and (Chan and Elliott, 2004b) adapted Schommer's scales to study the epistemological
beliefs of a sample of sub-degree teacher education students in Hong Kong, and found four factors or
dimensions of epistemological beliefs, namely ‘innate (or fixed) ability’, ‘learning effort and process’ (replacing
quick learning), ‘authority knowledge’ and ‘certainty knowledge’.
 
Schommer (1994) introduced two categories of epistemological beliefs: ‘naïve’ and ‘sophisticated’, which
were primarily distinguished by the factor scores on the questionnaire she developed. Sophisticated learners may
believe that a vast amount of knowledge is evolving, some knowledge is yet to be discovered, and a very small
amount of knowledge is unchanging. On the contrary, naïve learners may believe that a vast amount of information
is certain, some knowledge is yet to be discovered, and a very small amount of knowledge is changing.
Sophisticated epistemological beliefs are identified as elements that support flexible thinking, yet underlying that
ability to take in new ideas or change old ideas will be a steadfastness of core concepts (Schommer-Aikins, 2002).
 
3. Conceptions of teaching
Learning or teaching strategies are interconnected with a set of learning or teaching behaviors designed to
accomplish specific goals. Learning and teaching approaches are characterized by various intentions and
strategies.
 
 In this paper, we take the view that the traditional and the constructivist are the two major conceptions of
teaching and learning ([Clements and Battista, 1990] and [Clifford, 1992]). These two views provide a contrast of
conceptions of teaching and learning which may also be seen as either ends of a continuum with varying
conceptual understandings in between.
Supporters of the traditional conception believe that the classroom learning context in which the teacher plays
the major role in knowledge transmission supports and yields the most efficient and effective learning process and
outcomes.
Constructivism has its origins in Piagetian theory that refers to the belief that people actively construct their
perspectives by interpreting their experiences ([Kegan, 1982] and [Kegan, 1994]). Advocates of constructivism
suggest that knowledge is created from and by the interaction between students, or between students and
teachers.
 
Kember (1997) categorized conceptions of teaching in terms of two orientations - ‘teacher-centred’ which focuses
upon the communication of defined bodies of content or knowledge, and ‘student-centred’ which focuses on the
students' learning, taking a developmental approach towards students and their conceptions of knowledge, rather
than focusing on teachers.
 
The traditional conception of teaching is often referred to using teacher-centred teaching strategies because
knowledge acquisition is affected through a one-way transmission process from the teacher to students, with
limited interactive processes between students and teachers; student-centred teaching strategies that
emphasize the student's self-motivation, self-reflection and that learning is a reflective and interactive process in
which the role of the teacher is a facilitator ([Biggs, 1999], [Entwistle et al., 2000], [Kember, 1997] and [Trigwell
et al., 1999]) are identified as being in line with constructivist views.
 
Studies ([Entwistle and Peterson, 2004], [Entwistle et al., 2000] and [Trigwell et al., 1999]) show that if a teacher
adopts a more student-centred approach to teaching, the students will be more likely to adopt a deep approach to
learning that seeks deeper meanings and understandings of what they are studying.
 
While the distinction between ‘traditional’ and ‘constructivist’, or ‘teacher-centered’ and ‘student-centered’
approaches serves as a useful analytical tool for our understanding of classroom practices at the conceptual level,
it is acknowledged that intermingling of the conceptions, ‘traditional’ and ‘constructivist’, or ‘teacher-centered’ and
‘student-centered’ exist in classroom practices (Chan & Elliott, 2004b).
 
As teacher educators, we are interested to find out if graduates of our programmes are likely to adopt ‘teacher-
centered’ or ‘constructivist’ teaching strategies. In order to identify the inclination of the student-teachers, these
categorizations were adopted in the process of data analysis in our study.
 
4. Relationship between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching and learning
King and Kitchener (1994) describe seven developmental stages of epistemological beliefs relating to the
foundation of critical thinking when individuals are engaged in ill-structured problem solving. They found that an
individual who has more sophisticated epistemological beliefs may have a better understanding of an issue on the
basis of the available evidence, and is more likely to believe that alternative solutions may be constructed to solve
problems (King & Kitchener, 1994).
 
Various research has shown that the more students believe in fixed ability, simple knowledge and quick learning,
the more likely they are to display a lower level of reflective judgment (Schommer-Aikins, 2004).
 
Learners with naïve epistemological beliefs usually act as passive receivers of knowledge. Those with
sophisticated beliefs are able to relate to experts on a more level plane, and they are also more likely to assume
that knowledge comes from empirical evidence and reason as well as activities that they themselves are capable
of pursuing ([King and Kitchener, 1989] and [Schommer-Aikins, 2004]).
 
Together these studies suggest a relationship between students' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of
learning, associating sophisticated beliefs with reflective abilities, and naïve beliefs with passive learning. Chan
and Elliott's (2004b) study found that there was a possible influence of the four epistemological beliefs on the two
conceptions about teaching and learning as expressed in the path model shown in Fig. 1.
 
 
 Full-size image (27K)

Fig. 1. Path model that highlights a possible influence of the four epistemological beliefs on the two conceptions
about teaching and learning (adapted from Chan & Elliott, 2004b).
 
Understanding a learner's conceptions of learning is crucial for the teacher to identify effective teaching strategies
if the learner is having difficulties in learning. The development of learners' epistemological beliefs is influenced by
the teacher's theories of teaching and the learners' perceptions of the learning environment and learning
approaches (Sheppard & Gilbert, 1991).
When applied to teacher education, understanding student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of
teaching as well as the relationship between them probably enlightens teacher educators' review of the impact of
their instructional approaches.
Specifically, this article addresses the following questions.
1. What are the student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching?
2. What is the relationship between the student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of
teaching?
 
 
5. Method
To address the research questions, this article draws from the findings of a study on student-teachers'
epistemological beliefs, as well as their conceptions of teaching launched by the research team. This study
involves three streams of Bachelor of Education (BEd) students: BEd(Primary), BEd(Secondary) and
BEd(Language) programmes in an Education Institution. The philosophy of the Institution can be reflected by the
synopsis of one of the core modules ‘Teaching and Learning’ which states that, ‘Teaching is a deliberate and
purposeful activity designed to enhance learning in a way that respects students as active constructors of
knowledge. Effective teachers understand the theoretical bases of learning, are able to identify appropriate
teaching strategies that will meet the needs of all students, select and use approaches to teaching that will assist
students to achieve learning objectives, and evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching strategies.’ The four-
year BEd programme consists of the core components: Professional Studies, General Education, Complementary
Studies of English Language Proficiency, and Field Experience, accompanied by specialist components that meet
the particular professional needs of different groups of student-teachers. By facilitating educational/school visits
and providing practical classroom teaching opportunities, the Field Experience component was designed to
enhance better connection between theory and practice.
 
5.1. Quantitative method: instrument and participants
A questionnaire survey was administered to the student-teachers. The questionnaire survey takes advantage of
the framework developed by Chan and Elliott (2004b) and their two developed scales of measurement. It consists
of two scales, one measuring epistemological beliefs and the other measuring conceptions of teaching and
learning. Both scales consist of 30 items, and the items are rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1
(Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). The scales were developed and validated by Chan and Elliott (2004b) in
a former study of a sample of sub-degree Hong Kong teacher education students, and were reported to have
satisfactory psychometric properties. The epistemological scale of the questionnaire intends to measure 4
dimensions of epistemological beliefs: ‘Innate/Fixed Ability’ (8 items), ‘Learning Effort/Process’ (11 items),
‘Authority/Expert Knowledge’ (6 items), and ‘Certainty Knowledge’ (5 items), while the conceptions scale measures
two conceptions of teaching and learning, the ‘Constructivist’ (12 items) and the ‘Traditional’ (18 items) approach.
Validation of the scales for the sampled degree student-teachers in the present study was tried again, and
satisfactory goodness of fit indexes and reliability alphas were obtained. Satisfactory goodness of fit indexes were
obtained when confirmatory factor analysis was applied to the beliefs and conceptions scales for the sampled BEd
student-teachers. For the epistemological beliefs scale, chi-sq = 346.87, df = 100, NNFI = 0.89, CFI = 0.91,
GFI = 0.93, AGFI = 0.91, RMSEA = 0.064. For the conceptions scale, chi-sq = 304.27, df = 64, NNFI = 0.95,
CFI = 0.96, GFI = 0.93, AGFI = 0.90, RMSEA = 0.079. The reliability Cronbach alphas of the four beliefs and the
two conceptions subscales were computed. The alpha values for ‘Innate/Fixed Ability’, ‘Learning Effort/Process’,
‘Authority/Expert Knowledge’, ‘Certainty Knowledge’, ‘Constructivist’ and ‘Traditional’ Conceptions were
respectively 0.74, 0.77, 0.59, 0.59, 0.89, and 0.87. Schommer (1994) accounted for the lower alpha values of the
subscales by pointing out the difficulty in quantifying epistemological beliefs in non-specific domain contexts.
Whereas the alphas for the ‘Authority/Expert Knowledge’ and the ‘Certainty Knowledge’ were a bit low, the alphas
for the remaining latent variables were satisfactory for this study. A meaningful relationship between these four
epistemological beliefs and conceptions of learning have been found in other studies (Chan, 2007). By and large,
the results suggested by the confirmatory factor analysis were satisfactory. The paired sample T test for these four
beliefs suggested that they were quite different from each other in terms of the ideas connoted, and in terms of the
extent of the agreement on the part of the student-teachers.
For illustrative purposes, some items from the questionnaire are given below.
Dimensions Items

Innate/fixed ability Some people are born good learners, others are just stuck with limited ability

Learning effort/process Learning something really well takes a long time or much effort.

Authority/expert I have no doubts about whatever the experts say.

knowledge

Certainty knowledge Scientific knowledge is certain and does not change.

Constructivist conception The ideas of students are important and should be carefully considered by the
teacher.

Traditional conception The major role of a teacher is to transmit knowledge to students.

The student-teachers were asked to fill out the questionnaires and to return them during class. The convenience
sampling method was used. In total, there were 228 year 4 student-teachers who completed and returned the
questionnaires to the research team: 73, 35, and 120 year 4 student-teachers were in the BEd(Primary),
BEd(Secondary) and BEd(Language) programmes, respectively. Of the 120 BEd(Language) student-teachers, 60
were taking Chinese and the remainder were taking English. Of the 228 student-teachers, around 89% were in the
age range 20–24, and 18% in the age range 25–29. Around 22% were male and 73% female. In terms of the
subject group (as constructed for the analysis here), more student-teachers belonged to the language streams,
followed by the cultural subjects, science and mathematics, business and technology, and lastly, social subjects.
This distribution in our samples is consistent with the distribution in the student-teacher population.
 
5.2. Qualitative method: instrument and participants
To explore in greater depth the understanding of student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and conceptions of
teaching, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the set of questions shown in Appendix. Interviewees
were facilitated to explicate their epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching in the light of their own life
experiences. At the time of conducting the interviews, the student-teachers had already experienced two blocks of
teaching practice periods in Years 3 and 4 of the programme. Two pilot interviews were taken in order to explore
possible missing perspectives, and the interview questions were refined accordingly.
Thirty-one Year 4 student-teachers (N = 31, 8–13 student-teachers from each BEd programme) were chosen for
the in-depth interviews. The interview sample was drawn randomly without any consideration of background,
gender or academic results. The student-teachers were chosen because they agreed to participate after receiving
an open invitation. The distribution of student-teachers interviewed across programmes is shown in Table 1. Each
student-teacher was also assigned a pseudonym. For example, the assigned initial letter for the Year 4
pseudonyms for the BEd(Primary) student-teachers was ‘A’; thus their pseudonyms were Amanda, Amy, Adrian,
and so forth. Each interview lasted about 50 min, was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Table 1.
Distribution of student-teachers across programme and assignment of pseudonyms.
Year Programme Number of student- Number of Number of Assigned initial letter of
teachers (N) females males Pseudonyms

4 BEd(Primary) 13 8 5 A

4 BEd(Secondary) 10 9 1 C

4 BEd(Language) 8 6 2 E

  Sub-total 31 23 8 –
*CODING PROCESS*

The software NVivo was used to assist in organizing the data emerging from the transcriptions. The development
of coding categories involved an iterative process that entailed considering the relevant literature and exploring the
interview data. Informed by the conceptual framework regarding epistemological beliefs and conceptions of
teaching in this study, the interview data were coded with a tentatively predefined set of codes. In the process of
data analysis, two research team members cross-checked the coding of responses and the categorizations, and
refined the set of codes in the light of insights generated from reading and coding the data. Consensus was
achieved upon discussions on differences in coding and categorizing the themes. The reliability of the data
analysis was enhanced through this cross-checking and auditing process (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2000).
The coding process can be shown in the following example. Three codes were applied to the dimension
‘Innate/Fixed Ability’, namely ‘innate ability is more important’, ‘learning effort is more important’ and ‘innate ability
and learning effort are equally important’. Illustrative examples are: ‘I think innate ability is weighted more than your
own capability or learning effort.’ (Ada) (Code: Innate ability is more important); ‘I think learning effort contribute the
majority in learning.’ (Emma.) (Code: Learning effort is more important) and ‘I think 50/50, if you have innate ability
without learning effort, you can only learn 50%’ (Christine) (Code: Innate ability and learning effort are equally
important).
 
5.3. Relating the quantitative and qualitative findings
The survey findings for the student-teachers can be seen as offering an overall picture of the sampled student-
teachers' epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of teaching. The interview findings for the student-teachers
can be seen as providing a microscopic examination of the survey results, and are complementary to the survey
findings in the sense that deeper understandings about the student-teachers' views and conceptions can be
obtained from the interviews. For instance, the interview findings provided us with the rationales for the student-
teachers' epistemological beliefs and their conceptions of teaching. Such an analysis per se has an important
bearing on the overall picture because the student-teachers at the time of the survey and interview had completed
three years of study in the teacher education programme. It can offer a rich source of understanding regarding the
development of the student-teachers' conceptions of teaching, and their beliefs related to the knowledge
acquisition before their formal entry into the teaching profession.
 
6. Analysis
The findings presented below are divided into three parts: findings in terms of student-teachers' epistemological
beliefs, findings in terms of their conceptions of teaching, and the relationship between their epistemological beliefs
and conceptions of teaching.
 
6.1. Findings in terms of epistemological beliefs
The results of the questionnaire survey concerning the means and standard deviations of dimensions of
epistemological beliefs are shown in Table 2.
Table 2.
Means and standard deviations of dimensions of epistemological beliefs (N = 228).
Dimension of Innate/fixed Learning Authority/expert Certainty
epistemological beliefs ability effort/process knowledge knowledge

Mean 2.86 3.95 2.65 2.54

Standard deviation 0.49 0.38 0.44 0.61

 
6.1.1. Learning effort is more important than innate ability
Overall, the quantitative and the qualitative results were consistent. Findings from both methods indicated that the
student-teachers regarded learning effort as more significant than innate ability. It is reflected in the quantitative
results that the mean of the learning effort and process was as high as 3.95, a score indicating the importance with
which student-teachers viewed this belief (refer to Table 2). The interview findings (refer to question 1a in
Appendix) show that seventeen student-teachers regarded learning effort as more important, six emphasized that
innate ability was essential for learning, even though learning effort seemed to be more important to them, and
another six believed that innate ability and learning effort were equally important. Only two student-teachers
thought that innate ability was more important, and both reasoned that they had learnt this from their own
experience. All interviewees revealed that their own experience of overcoming learning difficulties in some ways
and believed that learning effort could help them to overcome difficult subjects, such as
(Learning a subject) relies on 30% innate ability and 70% learning effort. I think learning effort contributes the
majority in learning. It is because no matter whether the person is intelligent or not, he/she is able to handle
a certain amount of knowledge. If you are clever, you may learn faster or deeper. But I believe you can
 acquire some basic knowledge if you only put your heart and effort into learning. Therefore, I think learning
effort is more important than innate ability. (Emma)
These results are not surprising, as the Chinese are deeply influenced by the Confucian culture that places a high
value on education, effort and hard work. Chinese always consider learning as being closely associated with effort.
Effort or hard work is considered to be a very important attribute of a person's success, especially for academic
achievement, and is always emphasized by parents and teachers in Hong Kong. This culture probably has a
strong influence on the Hong Kong Chinese students' thinking that hard work is essential for learning achievement,
even to the extent of ‘knowing the impossibility of accomplishment but still working hard’ (Lau, 1996: 128).
 
6.1.2. Questioning authority
Authority/expert knowledge falls into the domain of whether knowledge is derived from authority/expert figures or
constructed on one's own accord. The results of the survey (mean of authority knowledge = 2.65) indicate that their
views that knowledge is handed down by authority figures or experts were between disagree and neutral (refer to
Table 2). The interviews provide further explanation to support the views of the quantitative results by analyzing
the student-teachers' responses to two interview questions: (1) where did the student-teachers think their source of
knowledge came from: handed down by the teacher or self-constructed? (refer to question 1b in Appendix); (2)
whether or not they would question the authority, such as teachers or experts, in acquiring knowledge (refer to
question 1c in the appendix). Although all of the student-teachers stated that they would question the authorities,
and most of them could quote their experiences of doubting authorities, their attitudes varied. There were several
reasons for the student-teachers doubting the expert knowledge: when the knowledge was not consistent with their
own personal experience or knowledge; when the student-teacher did not agree with the point of view of the
teachers or authorities; accepting that humans can make mistakes such as explaining things unclearly or wrongly;
and knowledge can change. For example,
I would question. For instance, for some educational theories, sometimes I think theory and practice are two
different things. At the moment when the expert sets up the theory, it might be derived from the fact. But,
afterwards, I have seen that some children did not think like that. I would question. The reason is that the
theory may not be suitable for a new era. In addition, teachers and experts are also human beings, what
they say may be subjective. Therefore, I would question. (Candice)
In addition, nine student-teachers tended to believe in their teachers or the authorities first because they thought
that teachers or experts should have a certain degree of accuracy in their knowledge.
 
6.1.3. Knowledge changes
The mean score of the certainty knowledge (mean = 2.54) shows that the student-teachers did not completely
agree that knowledge remains unchanged and certain (refer to Table 2). The interview findings for the question:
‘Do you think knowledge changes?’ (refer to question 1d in Appendix) are in line with the survey findings and
complement its details. This question is designed to examine whether one would believe that a few things in this
world are certain, some things are temporarily uncertain, and many things are either unknown or constantly
evolving (Schommer, 1994). Generally, all student-teachers regarded that knowledge changes for three reasons:
emergence of new discoveries, following the changes of society and the times, and the changing nature of social
science knowledge. For instance,
I think that (knowledge) would change. For example, regarding various cultures, so often the research was
conducted a few years ago. How it's done nowadays is already very different. It may not be appropriate to
back up my reference by using the research that was done twenty or thirty years ago. Therefore, time is a
factor. On the other hand, what people used to know may be only part of the truth. Then, maybe after a
while, we will have more knowledge by taking different angles to look at the same issue. That may allow us
to discover other parts of the truth, more thoroughly. (Evelyn)
Changes in the society and times lead to the reinterpretation of existing knowledge or ‘taking different angles’, and
this may also lead to the formation of new knowledge. Some student-teachers thought that some kinds of
knowledge such as scientific facts and theories would not change, but social science knowledge would tend to
change because it might not be applicable in the modern society, and thus knowledge is constantly evolving.
 
6.2. Findings in terms of conceptions of teaching
Regarding the conceptions of teaching, overall, the interview findings (refer to question 2 in Appendix) are
consistent with the quantitative results. The findings in the quantitative part of the study reflect that the student-
teachers strongly believed that the constructivist approach was the best teaching strategy, as the mean score of
the constructivist conception of teaching was 4.22, which is between agree and strongly agree; they did not
completely agree with the traditional conception of teaching (mean score = 2.53). In addition, the student-teachers
had significantly stronger espousal of the constructivist view than the traditional view, as indicated by the
significant difference shown in the results of the paired sample T test. The mean difference between the
constructivist and traditional approaches is significant (t statistic = 35.735, df = 227, p < .001). The results of the
questionnaire survey concerning the means and standard deviations of conceptions of teaching are shown in
Table 3.
Table 3.
Means and standard deviations of conceptions of teaching (N = 228).
Conceptions of teaching Constructivist Traditional

Mean 4.22 2.53

Standard deviation 0.39 0.50

 
In the following sections, we examine the qualitative results that are entirely based on the self-reports of the
student-teachers' conceptions of the best teaching strategies and the most commonly employed teaching
strategies in their field experiences. Student-teachers' reported teaching strategies were classified into two broad
categories, teacher-centred and student-centred, from the perspective of whether a learner regarded as a
constructor of knowledge in the reported classroom practices. For example, ‘arousing student interest’ was
classified as student-centred when the student-teacher described this strategy as treating learners as constructors
of knowledge. While this categorization was useful for analytical purpose, the researchers were aware that caution
was needed when regarding a specific reported teaching strategy as neatly falling into a distinct type. This
classification reflects the student-teachers' inclinations rather than labeling the individual as a teacher who would
only adopt one particular type of strategy exclusively. Therefore, cases with a combination of traditional and
constructivist conceptions will also be discussed in this paper.
 
6.2.1. Constructivist conception of teaching (adopting student-centred teaching strategies)
In the interviews, when the student-teachers were asked, ‘Which are the most common strategies that you will
employ in teaching?’ (refer to question 2a in Appendix), all expressed that they preferred strategies related to the
student-centred approach. The most frequently mentioned teaching strategies by the student-teachers in response
to this interview question are summarized in Table 4. All student-teachers could mention more than one type of
teaching strategy.
 
Table 4.
Summary of the most frequently mentioned teaching strategies by the student-teachers.
Teaching strategies mentioned by the student-teachers Number of student-teachers

Arousing students' interest 14

Organizing interactive activities 14

Using an experiential learning approach 11

Adjusting teaching strategies according to the diverse needs of the 10

students

Relating the content to their daily lives 6

Questioning 6

Conducting inquiry 6

Group learning 5
 
When the student-teachers were asked, ‘Which do you think are the best teaching strategies?’ (refer to question
2b in Appendix), all stated that student-centred strategies were the best for teaching. This is a typical example
showing how the student-teachers justified this choice,
Nowadays, the majority of students like activities, to play and to explore more things. And when you are
explaining things to them, you need to tell them or help them to understand it through some activities or
experiential learning method. (Adrian)
Since no student-teacher reported adopting teacher-centred teaching strategies only, elaboration of the pure
traditional conception of teaching is not discussed in this paper.
 
6.2.2. Combination of traditional and constructivist conceptions (adopting both teacher-centred and
student-centred teaching strategies)
Interestingly, four student-teachers revealed that they would like to adopt both teacher-centred and student-
centred teaching strategies in order to suit various students' learning needs at different stages. Sometimes, a
didactic approach was believed to be the best choice for teaching some subjects, or thought to be more suitable
for some learners who were less capable, such as
The best teaching strategy is to know the students in your class first. It is because different teaching
strategies should be adopted due to the diversity of students. There are some smarter pupils; you may
openly involve them in some discussions for exploring and inquiry. On the other hand, for some students
who are less talented or less privileged, you may need to give them direct instruction. Once their basic
knowledge and skills are established, you can help them to develop. (Amanda)
6.3. The relationship between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching
In attempting to explore the relationship between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching, the research
team divided the student-teachers' epistemological beliefs into two categories, ‘sophisticated beliefs’ and ‘naïve
beliefs’, with respect to the four dimensions, ‘innate (or fixed) ability’, ‘learning effort and process’, ‘authority
knowledge’ and ‘certainty knowledge’. Describing a person with sophisticated beliefs means they believe that
ability is not inborn and fixed but acquired and growing, learning effort is a process that requires effort, knowledge
is mainly self-constructed, and knowledge is tentative and changing. On the contrary, an individual holding naïve
beliefs believes that ability is inborn and fixed, learning is either quick and effort does not change the results,
knowledge is mainly from authority or expert figures, and knowledge is certain and remains unchanged. Categories
of the epistemological beliefs in terms of the four dimensions are shown in Table 5. However, there are some
student-teachers who hold sophisticated and naïve beliefs in different dimensions and so are classified as having
‘mixed’ epistemological beliefs. For example, one possessing ‘mixed’ beliefs would consider that ‘learning effort is
a process that requires effort’ but that ‘the source of knowledge is mainly authority or expert figures’.
Table 5.
Categories of the epistemological beliefs in terms of the four dimensions.
Dimension(s) Categories of epistemological  
beliefs

  Sophisticated Naïve

Innate/fixed ability Ability is not inborn and fixed but Ability is inborn and fixed
acquired and growing

Learning effort and Learning is a process that requires Learning is either quick or not at all, and effort
process effort does not change the results

Authority/expert Source of knowledge is mainly from Source of knowledge is mainly from authority or
knowledge self-construction expert figures

Certainty knowledge Knowledge is tentative and changing Knowledge is certain and remains unchanged
Since holding sophisticated epistemological beliefs is regarded as supporting flexible thinking, the ability to take in
new ideas or change old ideas (Schommer-Aikins, 2002) is an essential element for constructing new
understanding in the process of learning by interpreting experience as per the constructivist approach. It is
expected that consistency should be found among individuals; those with sophisticated beliefs are likely to be
constructivists in terms of their conceptions of teaching, or those with mixed epistemological beliefs will tend to
possess mixed conceptions of teaching. When comparing their epistemological beliefs with their conceptions of
teaching, twelve student-teachers were categorized as being consistent in possessing sophisticated
epistemological beliefs and constructivist conceptions of teaching. Another four student-teachers were also
considered to be consistent in having mixed (both sophisticated and naïve) epistemological beliefs and employing
mixed (both constructivist and traditional) conceptions of teaching. However, inconsistencies among individual
student-teachers were found in two ways: (1) four student-teachers possessing sophisticated epistemological
beliefs held a combination of both constructivist and traditional conceptions of teaching; (2) eleven student-
teachers possessing mixed epistemological beliefs (meaning that they held both sophisticated and naïve beliefs)
could also, interestingly, be described as constructivists in terms of their conceptions of teaching. Table 6 provides
a summary of the comparison of epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching. Elaboration on the
inconsistent cases (Types C and D) is necessary in order to extend our knowledge about how student-teachers
think.
Table 6.
Summary of comparison of the epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching and the number of
student-teachers.
Type Epistemological beliefs Conceptions of teaching Number of student- Consistency
teachers

A Sophisticated Constructivist 12 Consistent

B Mixed (sophisticated & Mixed (constructivist & 4 Consistent
naïve) traditional)

C Sophisticated Mixed (constructivist & 4 Inconsistent

traditional)

D Mixed (sophisticated & Constructivist 11 Inconsistent

naïve)
6.3.1. Sophisticated epistemological beliefs, but mixed conceptions of teaching (type C)
Student-teachers in this category who espoused sophisticated epistemological beliefs might sometimes adopt
teaching approaches which appear to be inconsistent with their beliefs. They might use methods such as lecturing
or demonstrating as one of the elements in a wider effort to facilitate learning. This situation is illustrated by the
following case. This student-teacher explained why she employed teacher-centred strategies in her teaching
practice instead of her ideal student-centred approach.
Sophisticated epistemological beliefs:
I think I discover knowledge on my own…It is necessary for me to study a lot more other stuff if I want to
learn this subject well. (Ava)
Mixed (combination of both constructivist and traditional) teaching strategies:
The best (teaching strategy), I think, is when the answer is to be found out by the students, and they
understand what they are talking about. (Ava)
How to teach? Actually, I think what I want to teach is the content or the knowledge from the textbook. To
begin with, there are textbooks and schedules that you need to follow in school. You have to teach the
students some certain knowledge…Unfortunately, there is a lot of stuff to teach in a 35-minute lesson. I
learnt that time was very limited in my TP (Teaching Practice) experience…There is no extra time left after
you have dealt with the stuff from the textbook. (Ava)
This example illustrates that the student-teacher adopted a traditional conception of teaching because she was
worried that she could not keep up with the scheduled teaching progress. The constraints of the teaching practice
situation in terms of covering curriculum content assigned by the school within limited curriculum time drove the
student-teacher to adopt traditional teaching strategies, despite the fact that they ran counter to her sophisticated
epistemological beliefs.
 
6.3.2. Mixed epistemological beliefs, but possessing constructivist conceptions of teaching (type D)
Eleven student-teachers were found to have mixed epistemological beliefs. On the one hand, they held naïve
beliefs about ‘authority knowledge’ in that they either regarded knowledge as being mostly handed down by
authority or they rarely doubt authority. On the other hand, they also had sophisticated beliefs that knowledge can
change, and most of them thought that learning effort is more important than innate ability. As for teaching
strategies, they preferred to adopt constructivist teaching strategies. One student-teacher who had naïve beliefs
about authority knowledge, but espoused sophisticated belief in certainty knowledge may be used as an illustration
as follows.
Mixed (combination of both naïve and sophisticated) epistemological beliefs:
(Learning) mostly results from the teacher's teaching. If the teacher didn't give me some insight, it is
impossible for me to explore (learning) in a certain direction…Knowledge will change because the world is
continually changing. New discoveries happen daily. (Cecilia)
Constructivist teaching strategies:
My teaching strategy is that I prefer to adopt the experiential learning approach…My goal is to let the
students learn through the process of doing and practicing…I will provide more opportunities for them to
participate in discussion or in role-plays. They don't need to just sit and listen to me. I will spend more time
developing relationships with them. (Cecilia)
This case illustrates that although the student-teacher believed that her learning mostly resulted from the teacher,
knowledge would change. While she held mixed epistemological beliefs, she described the constructivist
conception of teaching as her goal.
 
7. Discussion and conclusion
 
7.1. Explanation for epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching
One significant finding about the student-teachers' epistemological beliefs was that most of them believed that
learning effort was more important than innate ability. The second finding was that, despite the fact that at times
they doubted the authorities, they still believed that the authorities are more experienced and convincing. The third
finding was that all of the student-teachers believed that knowledge changes.
 
Regarding the conceptions of teaching, they were found to have much stronger leanings towards the constructivist
conception of teaching. The continued promotion of reflective thinking and constructivism in all sectors of Hong
Kong education, and especially in teacher education universities and institutes, seems to have been influential and
effective in recent years (Chan & Elliott, 2004b).
 
When the student-teachers get used to this way of believing and thinking in their learning, they are more likely to
believe in a constructivist view in their classroom teaching. If the student-teachers find the approach effective in
learning and it is well received by the students they teach during their teaching practice, they will tend to favor
constructivist teaching strategies, even though their own teachers might have adopted traditional teaching
strategies in their former school days.
 
7.2. Explanation for the inconsistencies between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching
About half of the student-teachers espoused sophisticated epistemological beliefs while the other half held mixed
sophisticated/naïve epistemological beliefs. However, in exploring the relationship between epistemological beliefs
and conceptions of teaching, the results do not always support the relationship that the student-teachers'
epistemological beliefs reflect their conceptions of teaching.
Although most of the student-teachers who had sophisticated epistemological beliefs were more likely to believe in
a constructivist approach to teaching, or those who had mixed epistemological beliefs tended to espouse mixed
conceptions of teaching, as predicted, some unexpected inconsistencies were also found.
 
This finding is consistent with Kember's (1997) argument that there is not always an automatic relationship
between underlying beliefs and observable teaching approaches. This does not necessarily imply that they have
changed their underlying beliefs. There are instances when student-teachers face conflict between their beliefs in
knowledge acquisition and learning and the realities of teaching, such as the pressure to keep up with the
scheduled teaching progress.
 
Brownlee, Purdie, and Boulton-Lewis (2001) suggested that a possible explanation for inconsistencies between
epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching was that the student-teachers were still in a transition stage of
changing from having naïve beliefs to sophisticated beliefs. In such circumstances, student-teachers may
experience some confusion and disequilibrium when they are encouraged to reflect on their existing beliefs, and
they may be struggling with discrepancies between pre-existing beliefs and new information.
 
7.3. Implications for teacher education programmes
The consistencies and inconsistencies between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching found in this
study show that the relationship between epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching varies across
student-teachers. This study illuminates that the assertion that conception of teaching is belief-driven (Chan &
Elliott, 2004b) needs to be understood with caution in the stage of teachers' early professional development as in
this transition stage, pre-service student-teachers probably experience transition in terms of epistemological beliefs
and their conceptions of teaching may be shaped by the contexts of teaching in teaching practice. This enriched
understanding sheds lights on implications for teacher education programmes. Two key aspects are suggested to
the teacher educators for helping their student-teachers: (1) changing student-teachers' epistemological beliefs
from naïve to sophisticated; (2) facilitating student-teachers' development of conceptions of teaching while getting
through the transition stage of changing from having naïve beliefs to sophisticated beliefs.
Sophisticated epistemological beliefs may be facilitated directly through explicit reflections on both the referential
and structural aspects of such beliefs (Brownlee, 2004). It is suggested that the teacher education programme
should focus explicitly on student-teachers' epistemological beliefs and model a teaching/learning environment that
is consistent with the constructivist approach. Relational pedagogy is recommended in teacher education
programmes which involve valuing a student as a knower, providing learning experiences that are related to the
students' experiences, and facilitating a constructivist perspective of knowing and learning (Baxter Magolda, 1996).
Teacher education programmes should model reflective thinking and judgment instead of encouraging passive
reception of knowledge from authority figures.
Changing student-teachers' conceptions of teaching is not an easy process and may need the establishment of a
sympathetic and supportive environment (Kember, 1997). A holistic developmental process can be envisioned
from the establishment of inter-personal relationships between teacher and student (Kember, 1997). While
relational pedagogy is needed in teacher education programmes, the extent to which student-teachers can adopt a
constructivist approach in teaching practice greatly depends upon the conditions of the placement schools.
Teacher educators could share aims and maintain close cooperation with the mentors in placement schools
(Cheng, 2005). Related to this, universities and schools need to work in partnership to cater for student-teachers'
survival needs or self concerns, and foster facilitating school and classroom contexts for them to practice
constructivism in teaching and learning.
 
7.4. Further study
Despite the consistencies in the qualitative and quantitative findings, one needs to be cautious about the
interpretation of the results. It should also be noted that this study is limited in its sample size, and that the analysis
is solely based on the self-reporting of teacher education students in the questionnaire survey and interviews. In
order to verify the given data, further investigation by observation is recommended for future studies. In addition,
longitudinal studies on student-teacher development throughout the teacher education programme will provide
further insight into changes in their epistemological beliefs and conceptions of teaching. In particular, further
studies to identify the influences of lecturer-student or student-peer relationships and teaching practices on the
beliefs of student-teachers are recommended.
 
 
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Appendix.
Interview questions are as follows
1. Questions about epistemological beliefs
a. When you are learning a subject, what percentage will you attribute to your innate ability and to your
learning effort? Why do you think that? Do you believe that perseverance and hard work can
overcome difficulties in learning?
 
b. Is your learning mainly a result of teaching by the teacher or self-constructed?
 
c. Do you think what the teacher teaches/what experts say or write is right? Do you question it?
 
d. Do you think knowledge changes, or it is something that does not change? Why do you think that?
 
2. Questions about conceptions of teaching
a. Which are the most common strategies that you will employ in teaching? What are your reasons or
principles for choosing these strategies?

b. Which do you think are the best teaching strategies?

 
-Keywords
 
 

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*APPENDIX*--Interview Questions
-the second section of questions, "Questions about Conceptions of Teaching" overlaps a bit with our VOTL questions (a
and b)
--> are we sure about the questions we want to ask?
 
 
 
Corresponding author. Department of Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences and Technology, The Hong Kong Institute
of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China. Tel.: +852 2948 7657.
1 Student is generally referred as a learner.
2 Student-teacher is referred as a student who is studying the Bachelor of Education (BEd) program.
 
Teaching and Teacher Education
Volume 25, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 319-327
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