Belief change in ESL student teachers during a master's- level teaching practicum

Teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning greatly influence their classroom practices. This is particularly evident in an English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching practicum, where student teachers are exposed to new practices and react to them based on their current beliefs about teaching. This thesis examines and tracks changes in the beliefs of ESL student teachers while enrolled in a graduate level teaching practicum. The data for the present study was gathered through observations of lesson planning and advising sessions, personal interviews, questionnaires, and written self-reflections. Following the principles of ethnographic research, this study found that most student teachers did not change their beliefs, although few instances of modified or newly created beliefs and contradictions between beliefs and practices were experienced. Like previous studies about teachers' beliefs (e.g., Brousseau & Freeman, 1988; Gutierrez Almarza, 1996; Johnson, 1994; Markee, 1997), this study suggests that in order to change student teachers' beliefs, graduate ESL programs should explicitly address the beliefs of student teachers' throughout the teaching practicum. In addition, the instructors' intervention was found to be an essential influence on student teacher belief change.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Teaching English as a Second Language

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2002

Author dc:creator

• Velasquez, Angela Maria Lopez

Contributors dc:contributor

• Berg, Catherine

• Teaching English as Second Language
• Teachers' beliefs ESL teaching practicum
• Belief change
• Graduate ESL programs

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright by Angela Maria Lopez Velasquez, 2002

Language dc:language

eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125930

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/125930