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Asia-Pacific Forum
on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 10, Issue 1, Article 12
(June, 2009) |
Teacher beliefs and practice in science education
Funda SAVASCI-ACIKALIN
Istanbul University, Hasan Ali Yucel College of Education
Department of Science Education, Vefa, Istanbul, TURKEYEmail: fundasavasci@yahoo.com
Received 1 May, 2009
Revised 24 June, 2009
Teacher beliefs and practice have been widely debated by educators in order to understand the nature of the relationship between these concepts. Despite the ongoing discussion, there is still no clear definition of belief and it has been used interchangeably with knowledge. Therefore, the first purpose of the study was to clarify the definitions and nature of beliefs and knowledge in order to understand the relationship between teacher beliefs and practice.
Moreover, many scholars believe that teachers have a crucial role in implementing change in schools. Therefore, many research studies have been conducted in science education on a variety of issues. However, the findings of the research indicate that the relationship between teacher beliefs and practice is controversial and has a complex nature. The second purpose of this paper is to critically analyze research studies in terms of their weakness and strengths with some recommendations for further research.
Keywords: Teacher beliefs and practice, Science education
