Pajeres (1992)

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Teachers' Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning Up a Messy Construct

The article Teachers' Beliefs and Educational Research: Cleaning Up a Messy Construct was written by Frank Pajares and published in Review of Educational Research in 1992. The article is available from SAGE Publications at http://rer.sagepub.com/content/62/3/307.

Abstract

Attention to the beliefs of teachers and teacher candidates should be a focus of educational research and can inform educational practice in ways that prevailing research agendas have not and cannot. The difficulty in studying teachers’ beliefs has been caused by definitional problems, poor conceptualizations, and differing understandings of beliefs and belief structures. This article examines the meaning prominent researchers give to beliefs and how this meaning differs from that of knowledge, provides a definition of belief consistent with the best work in this area, explores the nature of belief structures as outlined by key researchers, and offers a synthesis of findings about the nature of beliefs. The article argues that teachers’ beliefs can and should become an important focus of educational inquiry but that this will require clear conceptualizations, careful examination of key assumptions, consistent understandings and adherence to precise meanings, and proper assessment and investigation of specific belief constructs. Implications of findings and directions for future research are offered.

Outline of Headings

  • Toward a Meaning of Belief
    • Beliefs and Knowledge
    • The Effect of Knowledge Versus Beliefs
    • Defining Beliefs
  • Varying Meanings of Teachers' Beliefs
    • Toward Consensus
  • On the Nature of Beliefs
    • Rokeach — The Belief System
    • More Recent Conceptions
  • The Beliefs of Preservice Teachers
    • Insiders in a Strange Land
  • Synthesis of Findings on Beliefs
  • Reflections and Research Directions

Also

APA

Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers' beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307–332. doi:10.3102/00346543062003307

BibTeX

@article{Pajares1992,
author = {Pajares, M. Frank},
doi = {10.3102/00346543062003307},
journal = {Review of Educational Research},
number = {3},
pages = {307--332},
title = {{Teachers' beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct}},
url = {http://rer.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.3102/00346543062003307},
volume = {62},
year = {1992}
}