Cross-cultural comparison of teacher beliefs about discipline and behavior management, teaching practices, and students

This cross-cultural study examines the patterns of Taiwanese elementary school teachers' beliefs and the similarities and differences of teacher beliefs among American and Taiwanese teachers. Three research questions are addressed. First, what are Taiwanese teachers' beliefs about discipline and behavior management, teaching practices, and students? Second, to what degree is the Teacher Beliefs Q-Sort (TBQ) a valid measure to assess Taiwanese teachers' beliefs? Third, what are similarities and differences in teachers' beliefs among American and Taiwanese teachers? Participants included 70 American teachers from three schools, and 251 Taiwanese teachers from 13 schools. The TBQ data were collected from both American and Taiwanese group while the Taiwanese teachers also completed Taiwanese teacher belief questionnaires. Findings showed that Taiwanese teachers believe in both teacher-directed (e.g., clear expectations, application of external rewards) and student-directed orientation (e.g., respecting student autonomy, developing students' self-monitoring behavior) in classroom management; they also believe in the importance of student-centered approach (e.g., acting as a facilitator of learning) in their teaching practices; and they hold positive beliefs about students and emphasize socio-emotional elements in the classroom to promote student learning. The TBQ demonstrates a fairly good validity in the Taiwanese context, however, it is not exhaustive in its assessment of Taiwanese teacher beliefs. American and Taiwanese teachers appear to hold more similar than different priorities and beliefs; specifically, teachers from the two cultures are more similar in beliefs about discipline and behavior management and beliefs about students and are least similar with respect to beliefs about teaching practices. This study describes a novel and valid measure for understanding teachers' beliefs in Taiwan and describes, the ways in which beliefs are sensitive to context and culture. Results lay groundwork for future research comparing across cultures. Furthermore, this comparative study signifies the usefulness of a macro-level (i.e., international) analysis in education instead of traditional micro-level (i.e., local) as unit of analysis.