Twenty-sixth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

What do teachers believe? A quantitative survey instrument called the Teacher Self Inventory (McLaughlin, 1989/2018) was used to assess elementary classroom teachers’ beliefs about their instructional roles and teaching personalities. Volunteer subjects were asked to complete the online survey using a desktop computer, laptop computer, tablet, or smart phone. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to further explore these factors. The same procedure was repeated with pre-service teachers at the researcher’s institution. Pre-service teachers responded to the same survey items as practicing teachers but with slightly different directions. While classroom teachers were asked to reflect on their current practice, the pre-service teachers were asked to respond based upon predictions of their roles in the classroom and their teaching personalities. Survey responses and interview data were then analyzed and synthesized to create a profile of both classroom teachers’ beliefs and the beliefs of pre-service elementary education majors. The conference presentation will include the following three elements: An introduction (including online access) to the Teacher Self Inventory, as well as a brief overview of the instrument development process; a summary of the quantitative results of the study comparing elementary classroom teachers’ survey responses to those of pre-service teachers; a description of the related qualitative data analysis process; a group discussion of the implications of the study and directions for future research; an invitation for participants to consider using the Teacher Self Inventory for additional research investigations.