Analyzing Teachers' beliefs about the Desired Classroom: A Phenomenological Study of the Intellectual System of High School Teachers

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study is to analyze teachers' beliefs about the desirable classroom. Teachers' beliefs about a desirable and ideal classroom are important in the sense that these beliefs shape teachers' expectations, actions, and behaviors in the classroom and influence better education that meets students' needs.
 Methods: The method of study was qualitative and phenomenological and the data were analyzed using Culizzi method. The population of the study consisted of all teachers in the first and second grade of Kermanshah city during the academic year 2018-2019, of whom 15 individuals were selected through purposeful sampling for in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded through Epochs method.
 Findings: After analyzing the data, 3 main categories were obtained. The categories of behavior-oriented beliefs, which includes the subcategories of multidimensional upbringing, control, boundaries, non-discrimination-justice and personality. The category of relationship-oriented beliefs include empathy and acceptance, knowing the psychological world, teacher's self-disclosure, relationship with peers, motivation and interest, support, respect and trust, counseling and consultation, teacher's relationship with parents, modeling, changing and cultivating personality traits, and family. Also, beliefs aimed at teaching under the categories of knowledge, attention to individual differences, teaching method (transfer of concepts), educational technology, teacher's appearance, physical structure of the class, time, learning, educational level, limitations, teacher's age, teacher's experience, the role of education includes student's readiness, and intelligence.
 Conclusions: According to the findings of this research, it can be said that teachers' beliefs about the desirable classroom have a wide range that is not limited to the behavior of the teacher or student and other factors such as family, teacher relationship with parents, physical structure of the class and teaching style also affect this.