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Teachers' Beliefs: Definitions and Assumptions
Parvinder Singh all Amar Singh
Zurida Haji Ismail
[email protected]
Introduction
"Belief System" plays an important influence on the way people conceptualize problems
as well as face changes that are occurring in their lives. According to Schoenfeld (1983),
existence beliefs and beliefs in alternative worlds make belief system very important
determinants of how individual organizes the world into task environments and defines
task and problems. For him, beliefs perform the function of "framing." Conceptualizing
a belief system involves understanding that the system is composed of beliefs connected
to one another and to other cognitive or affective structures that form, among others,
beliefs about constructs, beliefs about politics, about abortion, about art, about the nature
of knowledge.
Teachers' belief about education, about schooling, teaching, learning, students and also
beliefs about matters beyond their profession is becoming a vital issue in current education
reforms. This is because their theories and beliefs represent the rich store of general
knowledge of objects, people, events and their interactive thoughts and decision, as well
as their classroom behavior (Nisbett & Ross, 1980). These theories and beliefs make
up an important part of teachers' general knowledge through which teachers perceive
process and act upon information in the classroom.
In practice these beliefs can take many forms. They can be embodied, among many
others, in the teacher's expectations of having his/her students' performance or in the
teacher's theories about a particular subject area's teaching and learning. Regardless
of the forms they take, a teacher's belief or philosophy can affect teaching and learning
in one way or the other.
The focus of this review is on teachers' belief system and their effects on teaching and
learning. In this review, a definition for the construct "belief' is conceptualized, the nature of
belief is explored and the fundamental assumptions of belief system are discussed briefly.
Definition of Beliefs
All teachers' hold beliefs, however defined and labeled, about their work, their students,
their subject matter, and their roles and responsibilities. A variety of conceptions of
educational beliefs has appeared and is summarized as below;
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Beliefs is based onjudgrnents
and evaluation (Pajares, 1992)
Beliefs are individual's representation of reality that has enough validity, truth,
or
credibility to guide thought and behavior (Harvey, 1986)
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"Beliefs are mental constructions of experiences - often considered and
integrated into schemata or concepts" that are held to be true and that guide
behavior (Sigel, 1985)
Beliefs are dispositions to action and major determinants of behavior (Brown
& Cooney, 1982)
Beliefs are reasonably explicit "prepositions" about the characteristics
objects and object classes (Nisbett and Ross 1980)
of
Beliefs are terms in which people manipulate knowledge for a particular
purpose or under a necessary circumstance (Abelson, 1979)
Beliefs are any simple propositional, conscious or unconscious, inferred from
what a person says or does, capable of being preceded by the phrase, 'I
believe that .... (p 113). It may be descriptive (It is time for Mathematics
class), evaluative (I do not enjoy teaching Mathematics) or prescriptive (I
must go in before the bell rings, or my students will have eaten my desk),
(Rokeach 1968)
Belief is something beyond itself by which its value is tested, it makes an
assertion about some matter off act or some principle or law (Dewey, 1933).
Beliefs are preconceptions and implicit theories (Clark, 1988)
Beliefs are orientation to teaching (Porter & Freman, 1986).
Beliefs are reflective interpretation of experiences (Clark & Peterson, 1986).
Beliefs are teachers' perspectives (Tabachnick & Zeichner, 1984).
Beliefs are teaching ideology (Green, 1975).
The definitions of beliefs can be categorized as below (Table 2.1),
Table 2.1: "Key words" in the definition of beliefs.
Preconceptions
(Clark, 1988)
Orientation to teaching
(Porter & Freman,1986)
Reflective interpretations
(Clark & Peterson, 1986)
Explicit prepositions
(Nisbett & Ross,1980)
Mental construction of
experiences (Sigel,1985)
Disposition to actions
(Brown & Cooney,1982)
Representation of reality
(Harvey, 1986)
Based on judgment &
evaluation (Pajares,1992)
Manipulation of knowledge
(Abelson, 1979)
Something beyond itself
(Dewey, 1933)
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As can be noted from Table 2.1, there is a paradigm shift in the conception of teachers'
beliefs: from teaching ideology to teacher perspectives to specific structure and action
oriented. How then to best define beliefs, and to what aim? That beliefs are studied in
diverse fields has resulted in a variety of meanings, and the educational field community
has been unable to adopt a specific working definition, thus it can be concluded that defming
beliefs is best explained by the agendas of the researchers and the aim of the studies.
The Nature of Belief
Theorists generally agree that beliefs are created through a process of enculturation and
social construction: This cultural transmission has three components: enculturation,
education, and schooling (Van Fleet 1979). According to Herskovits's model of cultural
transmission, enculturation involves the incidental learning process individuals undergo
throughout their lives and includes their assimilation, through individual observation,
participation and imitation, of all the cultural elements present in their personal world.
Education is directed and purposeful learning, either formal or informal, that has as its
main task bringing behavior in line with cultural requirements. Schooling is the specific
process of teaching and learning that takes place outside the home. As individuals
incorporate others' ideas and mores, beliefs are created and fostered and generally
endure, unaltered, unless they are deliberately challenged (Lasley 1980).
Nisbett and Ross (1980) suggested that all people are theorists about their social and
natural world and that information encountered early is the raw material from which
they create the inferences they make about themselves, their surroundings and their
circumstances. A primacy effect is at work as these early inferences bias interpretations
of subsequent and often contradictory information, so that personal theories are
insufficiently even in the face of contradictions this new information may hold.
Early experiences strongly influence final judgments, which become theories (beliefs)
highly resistant to change. The results are the perseverance phenomena of theory
maintenance. Due to these phenomena, the earlier a belief is incorporated into the belief
structure, the more difficult it is to alter, for this belief subsequently affects perceptions
and strongly influence the processing of new information. It is for this reason the new
acquired beliefs are more vulnerable. With time and use, they become robust, and
individuals hold on to beliefs to incorrect or incomplete knowledge even after scientifically
correct explanations are presented to them. The power of belief can easily outweigh the
clearest and most convincing contrary evidence (Mumby, 1982). Once beliefs are formed,
individuals have a tendency to build causal explanations surrounding the aspects of those
beliefs, whether these explanations are accurate or mere inventions.
Belief System
Rokeach (1968) defined a belief system " as having represented within it, in some
organized psychological but not necessary logical form, each and everyone of a person's
countless beliefs about physical and social reality" (p.2). His analysis included three
assumptions: Beliefs differ in intensity and power; beliefs vary along a central-peripheral
dimension; and the more central a belief, the more it will resist change. He likened the
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beliefstructure to that of an atom, its nucleus holding together the various particles in a
stable system. Some beliefs form the nucleus of the system in this central-peripheral
dimension, and these central beliefs are more important and resistant to change.
Rokeach(1968) defined centrality in terms of "connectedness: the more a given belief is
functionally connected or in communication with other beliefs, the more implications and
consequences it has for other beliefs and, therefore, the more central the belief' (p.S).
He proposed four assumptions for connectedness that form a set of priorities for the
perceived importance of a belief. Beliefs touching on an individual's identity or self are
more connected, as are beliefs one shares with others. Derived beliefs are learned from
others;underived beliefs are learned by direct encounter with the belief object. Underived
beliefs have more functional connections, partly because "I saw it with my own eyes"
phenomenon is existential and connected to one's sense of self. Finally, there are beliefs
about the matter of taste, and these are arbitrary, less central, and have few connections.
Beliefs substructures (attitudes, values) are part ofthis belief network, or web, and can
also be thought of as connected to central or peripheral strands of that web. Their
strength may be interpreted by their functional connections to other beliefs and structures,
and this connectedness permits one to infer their importance and predisposition to action.
In all, it is a conceptual model with a very simple premise: Human beings have differing
beliefs of differing intensity and complex connections that determine their importance.
Rokeach (1968) suggested that efforts to determine and understand functional connection
along the four dimensions help determine the centrality of individual beliefs. These efforts
are akin to navigating among relevant levels for the purpose of discovering the relevant
structure responsible for housing the belief-laden values that trigger specific behaviors.
Inconsistencies are than seen in clearer perspective.
All individuals, at some point in their lives, suffer attacks of cognitive (belief) dissonance,
where incompatible beliefs are suddenly thrust on them and they must behave in a manner
consistent with only one of these beliefs. It is at this point that connections are discovered
or created and the centrality of a belief comes to prominence. Clusters of beliefs around a
particular object or situation form attitudes that become action agendas. Beliefs within
attitudes have connections to one another and to other beliefs in other attitudes, so that a
teacher's attitudes about a particular educational issue may include beliefs connected to
attitudes about the nature of society, the community, race, even family.
Lewis (1990) contended that there are only six ways individuals can believe or know:
believing an authority, deductive logic, the experience of the senses, the emotion of
feeling that something is true or right, rational intuition, and personal use of the scientific
method. Lewis suggested that, although individuals acquire beliefs through all six modes,
one of them ultimately surfaces as the primary mode of developing personal values.
Fundamental Assumptions about Beliefs
What is one to make of belief, then? Sifting clarity from the complexity of any
psychological construct is seldom easy, but researchers have expressed confidence in a
number of findings, and some inferences and generalizations can be made with reasonable
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confidence. They are offered below as fundamental assumptions that may reasonably
be made when initiating a study on teachers' educational beliefs.
Beliefs are formed early and tend to self-perpetuate, persevering even
against contradictions caused by reason, time, schooling, or experience
(Abelson, 1979; Bunchmann, 1984,1987; Bunchmann & SchwiUe, 1983;
Clark, 1988; Florio-Ruane & Lensmire, 1990; Ginsburg & Newman, 1985;
Lasley, 1980; Lortie, 1975; Mumby, 1982; Nespor, 1987; Nisbett& Ross,
1980; Posner et al, 1982; Rokeach, 1968; Schommer, 1990; Van Fleet 1979;
Wilson, 1990).
Individuals develop a belief system that house all the beliefs acquired through
the process of cultural transmission (Abelson, 1979; Brown &Cooney, 1982;
Eisenhart et aI., 1988; Nisbett & Ross, 1980; Peterman, 1991; Posner et
aI., 1982; Rokeach, 1968; Van Fleet, 1979).
The belief system has an adaptive function in helping individuals define
and understand the world and themselves (Abelson, 1979; Lewis, 1990;
Nisbett & Ross, 1980; Rokeach, 1968; Schutz, 1970).
Thought processes may well be precursors to and creators of beliefs, but
the filtering effect of belief structure ultimately screens, redefines, distorts,
or reshapes subsequent thinking and information processing (Abelson, 1979;
Calderhead & Robson, 1991; Goodman, 1988; Nespor, 1987; Nisbet &
Ross, 1980; Posner et al,. 1982; Rokeach, 1968; Schommer, 1990).
Epistemological beliefs playa key role in knowledge interpretation and
cognitive monitoring (Anderson, 1985;Kitchener, 1986; Nespor, 1987; Nisbet
& Ross, 1980; Posner et al,. 1982;Peterman, 199}; Schommer, 1990).
Beliefs are prioritized according to their connections or relationship to
another beliefs or other cognitive and affective structure. Apparent
inconsistencies may be explained by exploring the functional connections
and centrality of the beliefs. (Kitchener, 1986; Nespor, 1987; Posner et al,.
1982;Peterman, 1991; Rokeach, 1968; Schutz, 1970).
Beliefs substructures, such as educational beliefs, must be understood in
terms of their connections not only to each other but also to others, perhaps
more central, and beliefs in the system. Psychologist usually refer to these
substructures as attitudes and values ( Kitchener, 1986; Peterman, 1991;
Posner et al,. 1982; 1991; Rokeach, 1968).
By their very nature and origin, some beliefs are more incontrovertible
than others (Abelson, 1979; Bandura, 1986; Clark, 1988;Lewis, 1990; Lortie,
1975; Nisbett & Ross, 1980; Rokeach, 1968).
The earlier a belief is incorporated into the belief structure, the more difficult
it is to alter. Newly acquired beliefs are more vulnerable to change (Abelson,
1979; Clark, 1988;Lewis, 1990; Mumby, 1982; Nespor, 1987; Nisbett &
Ross, 1980;Posner et aI. , 1982; Rokeach, 1968).
Beliefs change during adulthood is a relatively rare phenomenon, the most
common cause being a conversion from one authority to another or a gestalt
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shift. Individuals tend to hold on to beliefs based on incorrect or incomplete
knowledge, even after scientifically correct explanations are presented to
them (Abelson, 1979; Lewis, 1990; Nespor, 1987; Nisbett & Ross,
1980;Posner et al., 1982; Rokeach, 1968).
Beliefs are instrumental in defming tasks and selecting the cognitive tools
with which to interpret, plan and make decisions regarding such tasks; hence
they playa critical role in defming behavior and organizing knowledge and
information (Abelson, 1979; Bandura, 1986;Lewis, 1990; Nespor,1987; Nisbett
& Ross, 1980; Posner et al. , 1982; Rokeach, 1968; Schommer, 1990)
Beliefs strongly influence perception, but they can be an unreliable guide to
the nature of reality (Abelson, 1979; Bandura, 1986; Bunchrnan & Schwille,
1983;Lewis, 1990; Nespor, 1987; Nisbett & Ross, 1980; Rokeach, 1968).
Individuals' beliefs strongly affect their behavior (Ableson, 1979; Bandura,
1986;Brown & Cooney, 1982;Clark & Peterson, 1986; Ernest, 1989;
Goodmann, 1988; Harvey, 1986,Nisbet & Ross, 1980; Rokeach, 1968).
Beliefs must be inferred, and this inference must take into account the
congruence among individuals' belief statements, the intentionality to behave
in a predisposed manner, and the behavior related to the belief in question
(Goodman, 1988;Janesick, 1977;Bunchrnann, 1984:Clark, 1988; Cole ,1989).
Beliefs about teaching are well established by the time a student gets to
collage (Abelson, 1979;Clark, 1988; Lortie, 1975; Nespor, 1987; Nisbett &
Ross, 1980; Rokeach, 1968, Wilson, 1990).
After reviewing the above assumptions, one can presume that beliefs are
formed early and tend to self perpetuate, this beliefs are difficult to be
altered, they change during adulthood and strongly affect an individual's
behavior. In order to reshape thinking, beliefs have to be filtered and inferred
because they are developed through a process of cultural transmission.
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Distinguishing
Beliefs from Knowledge, Attitudes & Values.
Table 6.1 below distinguishes beliefs from attitude, values and knowledge:
Table 6.1: Distinguishing
beliefs from attitude, values and knowledge
Affective outcome
(Ernest, 1989)
Cognitive outcom
(Ernest, 1989)
Affective outcome
(Rokeach, 1973)
Cognitive, Affective &
Behavioral outcome
(Daryl,1970)
Belief system do not
require general or
group consensus
regarding the validity
and appropriateness of
their beliefs
(Nespor 1987)
Knowledge systems
require general or
group consensus
regarding the validity
and appropriateness of
their knowledge.
«(Nespor 1987)
Value is an enduring
belief that a specific
mode of conduct or
end-state existence is
personally or socially
preferable to an
opposite or converse
mode of conduct or
end state of existence
(Rokeach, 1973)
Are enduring systems of
positive or negative
evaluations, emotional
feelings, and pro or con
action techniques with
respect to social objects
(Krech, Crutchfield &
Ballachey, 1962)
Beliefs are static;
represent eternal
truths that remain
unchanged in a
teacher's mind
regardless of the
situation.
(Roehler, Duffy,
Herrmann, Conley &
Johnson 1988)
Knowledge is fluid
and evolves as new
experiences are
interpreted and
integrated into
existing schemata
(Roehler, Duffy,
Herrmann, Conley &
Johnson 1988)
A value is a belief
upon which a man acts
by preference (Allport,
1961)
Attitudes are likes and
dislikes, they are our
affinities for and our
aversions to situations,
objects, persons, groups or
any other identifiable
aspects of our
environment, including
abstracts, ideas and social
policies (Daryl, 1970)
By studying the content in table 6.1, one can summarize that knowledge, attitude and
values do form an individual's belief system. A belief system contains clusters of beliefs
that are organized when knowledge, attitudes and values interact together. These beliefs
when organized, may also become values which house the evaluative, comparative and
judgments functions of beliefs.
Measuring
Belief System
Teachers' belief system can be measured by applying qualitative methods, quantitative
methods or a combination of both methods. The qualitative techniques that have been
applied included: Kelly's Repertory Grid Technique, Grounded Theory, Constant
Comparative Method (Glasser & Strauss) and Repertory Grid Technique (Fransella &
Bannister, 1977). The data was collected by conducting in-depth interviews (semistructured & structured), doing observations (participant & non-participant), video-taping
and writing field notes. The data can be analyzed in multiple ways including developing
patterns and assertions, transcribing interviews, constant comparative methods (Glasser
& Strauss, 1967), general pattern matching analytic technique (Yin, 1989), content analysis
and the interpretive process (Ericson, 1986).
Quantitative analysis of teachers' belief system include backward multiple regression
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andt-test. Data can be collected using questionnaires and surveys. A multistage qualitativequantitative analysis can also be done. This analysis consists of phenomenological mode
of inquiry, descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis and exploratory factor analysis.
Importance
of belief system
Understanding the belief structures of teachers' is fundamental to improve their
professional development and teaching practices (pajaras, 1992). Beliefs act as referents
for actions, and can be interpreted as what and why a teacher accomplished a goal.
Teachers are professionals who make reasonable judgments and decisions within a
complex and uncertain community, school and classroom environments, this judgments
and decision made by teachers' are driven by their belief system. In addition, teachers'
thinking about their roles and the beliefs they hold, help shape their pedagogy.
Summary
The term "teacher belief' is not used constantly with some researchers referring instead
toteachers' principles of practice, personal epistemologies, perspectives, practical knowledge
or orientations. In short, there is lack of agreement in terminology among researchers as
simply using the different words naming the same thing. There are factors that enable and
constrain how a person implements his/her beliefs. Teachers' personal science background,
peer, teachers' and personal traits facilitate a teacher's transition of beliefs into practice
(palmeri 1995, Tobin et ai, 1990). Context, socio-cultural, and institutional factors constrain
the implementation of beliefs into classroom practice (palmeri, 1995).
Diagram 10.1: Relationship
between knowledge, attitude, values & belief system.
Sub Structure of
beliefs
Belief System
The above diagram displays the relationship that exists between knowledge, attitude and
belief system. The amount of knowledge that an individual receives depends on his /her
attitudes and values that the individual has towards the knowledge. Both attitude and
values are the substructures of beliefs. The interaction that exists between knowledge,
attitude and values of an individual forms the belief system. Thus to conceptualize belief,
this' interaction plays a pivotal role, because belief system is composed of knowledge,
attitudes and values that are connected to one another and to the other cognitive and
affective structures.
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