Epistemic Beliefs of Teachers in Technology-Rich Community College Technical Education Programs

Abstract

Dramatic changes in the nature of work and its organization emphasize the need for workers to address complex and ill-structured problems and to produce knowledge useful in the workplace. Integrated use of computer-based technologies in education-for-work and workplace learning programs can address this need. Such potential, however, depends on the epistemic beliefs of teachers and trainers, as well as institutional and socio-cultural factors. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the epistemic beliefs of teachers in such programs. Our findings indicate that the teachers observed use technology largely to transmit content to their students and to control the overall delivery and pace of that transmission process. The constructivist promise inherent in computer technology was largely unrealized in the pedagogical and curricular practices observed.