Teacher beliefs and practice in science education

Beliefs have been receiving a great deal of attention from educational researchers and widely discussed in the literature (Fang, 1996; Kagan, 1992; Mansour, 2009; Nespor, 1987; Pajares, 1992). Although there have been many studies related to beliefs, educational researchers still discuss the definitions and nature of beliefs. Therefore, there is a need to clarify the terms and definition of a belief in order to better understand the relationship between teacher beliefs and practice. The first part of this paper discusses the definitions and nature of beliefs as found in literature and makes distinctions between beliefs and knowledge.

Studies of beliefs are mostly related to classroom practice and the relationship between teacher beliefs and practice has widely been discussed in regard to a broad variety of issues in science education including: (a) constructivism (Beck, Czerniak, & Lumpe, 2000; Haney, Lumpe, & Czerniak, 2003; Haney & McArthur, 2002); (b) curriculum (Cronin-Jones, 1991); (c) goals of science education (Mcintosh & Zeidler, 1988); (d) inquiry (Luft, 2001; Wallace & Kang, 2004); (e) nature of science (Gess-Newsome & Lederman, 1995; Hashweh, 1996; Lederman, 1999; Lederman & Zeidler, 1987); (f) reform strands (Haney, Czerniak, & Lumpe, 1996; Roehrig & Kruse, 2005); (g) science, technology and society, (Lumpe, Haney, & Czerniak, 1998); (h) teaching and learning (Hancock & Gallard, 2004; Haney, Lumpe, Czerniak, & Egan, 2002; Laplante, 1997; Levitt, 2002; Lumpe, Haney, & Czerniak, 2000; Mellado, 1998; Porlan & del Pozo, 2004); and (i) thematic units (Czerniak, Lumpe, & Haney, 1999). These studies indicate that the relationship between teacher beliefs and practice is controversial. Some studies (Cronin-Jones; Haney & McArthur; Haney et al., 1996, 2002; Hashweh; Levitt) found that teacher beliefs are consistent with classroom practice, while others found that teacher beliefs do not necessarily influence classroom practice (Hancock & Gallard; Lederman; Lederman & Zeidler; Mellado). These studies also indicate that teacher beliefs should be considered within context because of the context-dependent nature. Therefore, the second part of the paper critically analyzes research studies regarding the relationship between teacher beliefs and practice with other influential factors discussed in the science education literature.