A Comparative Study Of Teachers’ Beliefs Between Full-time And In-service English Ed.M Candidates

Teachers’beliefs, as the indispensable factors affecting teaching quality, have been explored widely in recent years. More and more researchers pay attention to teachers’beliefs of in-service teachers or normal students. However, few studies focus on those of the Ed.M candidates and even fewer studies concern the differences in teachers’beliefs between full-time and in-service English Ed.M candidates.Based on the problems and the situations mentioned above, this study is designed to investigate teachers’beliefs of English Ed.M candidates, with a purpose to compare the differences of teachers’beliefs between the full-time and the in-service group as well as to explore the causes of these differences. The ultimate goal is to provide basis and references for the cultivation of teachers’beliefs of the two groups. The thesis focuses on the following three questions:(1) What are the current situations of teachers’beliefs of full-time and in-service English Ed.M candidates respectively? (2) What are the significant differences in teachers’ beliefs between full-time and in-service English Ed.M candidates? (3) What are the causes of these differences in teachers’beliefs between full-time and in-service English Ed.M candidates?The theoretical framework adopted in the study is based on the Social Constructivism and Humanism. Both quantitative and qualitative designs are applied. For the part of quantitative design, a questionnaire adapted from Zhu Yuanyu’s Teachers’Beliefs Questionnaire is employed. It consists of six dimensions:English, learning, the role of learner, curriculum, teaching and teaching as a profession.30 full-time English Ed.M candidates and 30 in-service English Ed.M candidates of Yangzhou University are randomly chosen as the subjects to participate in the questionnaire. Then the data are processed with SPSS 19.0. For the part of qualitative design, semi-structured interviews are conducted.4 full-time English Ed.M candidates and 4 in-service English Ed.M candidates with different backgrounds are selected as the interviewees. The whole process of the interview is recorded. Afterwards the recordings are translated into text and the results of the interview are analyzed.The data analysis brings about the following results:Firstly, the study indicates that teachers’beliefs of the full-time group are open orientation (free, progressive and student-centered) in general (Mean=3.81). The opening degree of teachers’ beliefs in teaching as a profession (Mean=3.97) is at the highest level and that in learning (Mean=3.73) is at the lowest level. However, teachers’beliefs of the in-service group are intermediate orientation which refers to a level between open orientation and traditional orientation (restrictive, conservative and teacher-centered) (Mean=3.44). The opening degree of teachers’beliefs in teaching is at the highest level (Mean=3.72) and that in English is at the lowest level (Mean=2.80).Secondly, the results yielded from the questionnaires reveal that the differences in teachers’ beliefs between the two groups are significant in four dimensions of English, the role of learner, curriculum and teaching as a profession. Besides, teachers’beliefs of the full-time group are obviously more open than those of the in-service group. What’s more, the most significant difference exists in English and learner (P=.000), followed by teaching as a profession (P=.001) and curriculum (P=.033). No significant difference appears in learning (P=.068) and teaching (P=568).Thirdly, results from the interviews reveal the main causes for the differences:(1) As for English, the full-time group has more solid theoretical foundation of modern linguistics; while the in-service group always pays little attention to the theory study. Therefore the former could have a better understanding of English itself, which may bring about their relatively more open beliefs in the dimension. (2) As for the role of learner, the "student-centered" view of the full-time group may be greatly influenced by the scholars and professors with modern pedagogy thoughts; while possibly due to primary and secondary school students’strong dependence on teachers in learning, the in-service group especially some primary school teachers tends to hold the "teacher-centered" view, which results in the relatively traditional beliefs of the latter in the dimension. (3) Regarding to teaching as a profession, as for the full-time group, owing to their deep love and longing for teaching, as well as the sublimity of the profession, they show much enthusiasm for the profession with a purpose to improve students’overall development and their professional growth, which results in their open beliefs in the dimension; while teachers’beliefs of the in-service group especially some rural teachers may be affected by the poor work condition and salary, which could lower their enthusiasm for the profession and then result in their relatively traditional beliefs in the dimension. (4) As for curriculum, due to the conservative school rules and examination pressures, the in-service group may focus more on teaching textbook knowledge to help students get high scores, but fail to realize the importance of the extracurricular knowledge to the development of students’ability, which is responsible for their relatively traditional beliefs in curriculum; while the full-time group who holds the open beliefs is rarely affected by the rules and pressures.Some implications yielded from this study are as follows:(1) With regard to English, the in-service group should continuously update and deepen their study on theoretical knowledge; the educational departments also should provide more theoretical guidance for them. (2) As for the role of learner, the in-service group especially some primary school teachers should gradually change their teacher-centered view and cultivate students’autonomous learning ability. (3) Regarding to teaching as a profession, the in-service group especially some rural teachers should try to improve their professional moral training; the National education departments should take measures to improve their working condition and treatment in salary. (4) With respect to curriculum, the in-service group should set up their own curriculum view, but not completely comply with the conserved school rules and examinations pressure; the educational departments should offer teachers more curriculum-selecting rights to change their views in this aspect.