Pre-Service Teachers’ Belief Sources about Learning and Teaching: An Exploration with the Consideration of the Educational Programme Nature

Abstract

It is often said that beliefs determine the ways teachers think and act in classrooms. There is now strong evidence that teachers’ beliefs are formed during their previous education as students, and that they exert a powerful influence throughout their careers. However, only little has yet been done on the teacher education programmes’ influence on teachers’ beliefs, especially by taking the programme nature into consideration. The present study attempted to explore whether it is the previous learning experiences or the teacher education programme that influenced teachers’ belief formation. Data were collected from sixteen ELT pre-service teachers in a university in Northern Cyprus through semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that programme nature had a significant influence on pre-service teachers’ belief formation compared to the influence of their previous learning experiences. Other sources of beliefs were also identified. Implications for teacher education are discussed.