The Hierarchy Of The Teachers' Educational Beliefs Of The "evolution" Approach

Shifts in teachers' educational beliefs go together with the teachers' professional development. But the studies of the former cannot be frequently found. Thus, the study of a multi-level structure and shifting way of teachers' educational beliefs is of practical and theoretical importance. After clarifing and analysing the related concepts, this author reviews the small body of research with literature search. Then, he, based on this, interviews some beginning teachers of elementary schools and kindergardens to observe the change of their educational beliefs. Finally, the author attempts to provide a four-level structure of teachers' educational beliefs. Together with it, three hypotheses are offered in the judgment of "centrality": The centrality of the experienced belief is higher than that of the inexperienced one; The centrality of the inside experienced belief is higher than that of the outside experienced one; The centrality of the habitual-level belief is higher than that of the non-habitual-level one. So, in the author's mind, the converting way of teachers' educational beliefs is an emotional "gestalt shift"; The transformation of the belief to the changes in teaching behavior is as follows: If an "assimilated" or "accommodated" belief is "an inside experienced belief, belief transformation will be slower than its corresponding behavior changes. Otherwise, belief transformation proceeds behavior changes. With the preliminary findings, the writer examines the extent that educational theories affect educators' belief in education. The shortage of practice in traditional teachers' training mode is pointed out. Suggestions have been made in more attention to the issues of the applied location and practical effect of educational theories.