Abstract
In this article, we describe the results of a study of chemistry high school teachers’ beliefs (N = 7) of the chemistry curriculum and their roles, their beliefs on the teacher as developer of materials, and their beliefs about professional development. Teachers’ beliefs influence the implementation of a curriculum. We view the use of a new curriculum as a learning process, which should start at teachers’ prior knowledge and beliefs. The results reveal that it is possible to develop a new curriculum in which teachers’ beliefs are taken as a starting point. Promising approaches to prepare teachers for a new curriculum is to let them (co)develop and use curriculum materials: It creates ownership, and strengthens and develops teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 317-335 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Journal of science teacher education |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Keywords
- Curriculum change
- Teacher preparation
- Teacher beliefs