Learning to Teach in a Different Culture

Abstract

The paper analyses a case study of learning to teach in light of different proposals for what is entailed in learning to teach, with a particular focus on the role of prior beliefs. Much of the literature on learning to teach focuses on the problem of overcoming prior beliefs which derive from teachers' extensive familiarity with the school culture. This case study examines the problem of learning when the culture is remarkably different. It shows that prior beliefs are still very potent inhibitors to learning, even when the context that formed those beliefs is inappropriate to the teaching context.