Relationships between Primary Teacher Beliefs and Practice in the Primary Classrooms of a Small Urban School in East Tennessee.

<p>The purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between primary teacher beliefs, traditional or developmentally appropriate; and primary teacher practice, traditional or constructivist. A multi-case study design was employed for this qualitative research study. Eight teachers completed the <em>Primary Teacher Questionnaire (PTQ)</em> to determine the study group. Based on their responses to the teacher beliefs questionnaire, 3 teachers were chosen to further participate in the study. Three main research questions were analyzed with individual and cross-case analysis. Triangulation of data included observations, <em>Assessment of Practices in Early Elementary Classrooms (APEEC)</em> scores determined from observation data, and individual teacher interviews. The 3 teachers' initial data from the questionnaire were also used. The teacher with traditional beliefs demonstrated traditional practices. The teacher with developmentally appropriate beliefs demonstrated constructivist practices. The teacher whose beliefs fell in the middle demonstrated practices that were more constructivist than traditional.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MA (Master of Arts)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - unrestricted

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Early Childhood Education

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Moore, Lindsay Collins

• Constructivism
• Developmentally Appropriate Practices
• Traditional Teaching
• Teacher Beliefs
• Primary Grades
• Public Schools
• Educational Sociology
• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Sociology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by the authors.

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1926

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.etsu.edu:etd-3278