Longitudinal associations between pre-service teachers’ emotional intelligence and cultural beliefs

Cultural beliefs and emotions have become recognised aspects of the teaching profession. This study examined the association between emotional intelligence (EI) and cultural beliefs using self-reported survey data collected from pre-service teachers at the beginning of their studies (N = 777). These pre-service teachers entered teacher education in 2021 and were studying in five different Finnish universities that geographically represent four regions in Finland. The results from the confirmatory factor analysis and the multiple linear regression suggested the four dimensions of EI positively predict the latent factors of both multicultural and egalitarian beliefs. The relationships between the constructs exhibited moderate effect sizes, with slightly stronger associations found for multicultural beliefs (β = 0.38) compared to egalitarian ones (β = 0.26). Moreover, the 'using emotions' dimension of EI significantly and positively predicted pre-service teachers' multicultural beliefs; the use of emotions to guide thinking significantly predicted beliefs favouring cultural diversity. The study provides further empirical evidence for the influence of emotions on beliefs, and stresses the need to address topics pertaining to democratic education more explicitly and consistently in pre-service teacher education.

Research background: Teachers’ beliefs play an important role in the way they teach and meet their students’ needs. Researching pre-established pre-service teachers’ beliefs gives evidence that they might impede pre-service teachers’ compliance with pre-service education. Gap in knowledge and Purpose of the study: Many studies have produced contradictory findings in terms of prospective change in pre-established pre-service teachers’ beliefs caused by the impact of pre-service education study programmes. Therefore, this study addresses the gap by enriching this field with research findings reinforcing the potential impact of the study programme on changes in pre-service teachers’ beliefs on effective English language teaching and learning expressed across different years of the study programme. Methods: The study uses the results of questionnaires completed by 99 randomly selected pre-service teachers enrolled in an English language teaching study programme provided by the Faculty of Education, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. In addition, the study participants’ database was expanded using bootstrapping to enhance the results obtained by applying statistical methods. Findings and Value added: The results showed statistically significant differences among different years of the study programme within the continuum of their English language teacher education thus indicating the potential impact of the programme. The impact of the study programme led to pre-service teachers’ raised awareness and some modifications in their pre-established beliefs based on the learnt and acquired knowledge and gained practical teaching experiences during the practicums in higher grades of the study. The findings suggest that teacher educators and policymakers should be aware of pre-service teachers’ beliefs when adopting new strategies for reconceptualising and/ or modifying language teacher education programmes.

Background/Context Educating pre-service teachers to develop multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills for teaching diverse students is a major responsibility of teacher education program coordinators and teacher educators. Numerous studies have discussed and explored the characteristics of teacher preparation that improve pre-service teachers’ competency to teach diverse students. However, only a few empirical studies have examined the relationship between preparation characteristics and pre-service teachers’ multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Research Questions The study answered two research questions: 1) How do the initial level and change in pre-service teachers’ beliefs about diversity in personal and professional contexts differ by their background characteristics? and 2) What characteristics of teacher preparation for diversity reported by pre-service teachers are associated with positive changes in their beliefs about diversity in personal and professional contexts, controlling for their background characteristics? Participants The participants were 243 pre-service teachers enrolled in eight sections in a diversity course and accompanied field experience component in a teacher education program in a Midwest Research I university. Research Design Pre- and post-surveys were conducted to examine: 1) pre-service teachers’ background characteristics (gender, socioeconomic status, class standing, hometown location, and prior exposure to diversity), 2) beliefs about diversity in personal and professional contexts, and 3) four characteristics of teacher preparation for diversity: classroom as a learning community; instructor modeling constructivist and culturally-responsive teaching; field experience for understanding diverse students; and opportunity for reflection. Findings The study found that three characteristics of teacher preparation for diversity reported by pre-service teachers: 1) classroom as a learning community, 2) instructor modeling constructivist and culturally-responsive teaching, and 3) field experience for understanding diverse students were significantly associated with positive changes in pre-service teachers’ beliefs about diversity in both personal and professional contexts. Conclusions/Recommendations Creating a sense of community in classrooms, and modeling constructivist and culturally responsive teaching are likely to promote positive beliefs about diversity among pre-service teachers. In addition, field experiences should promote pre-service teachers’ interactions with people from diverse backgrounds, assign a mentor to support their learning experience and promote self reflection, and provide opportunities to understand the connection with diversity coursework.

The purpose of this paper is to examine selected preservice elementary teachers' pedagogical beliefs before and after the teaching immersion program using Calderhead's Five Aspects of Pedagogical Beliefs. It aims to uncover meaningful experiences, challenges, and factors that contributed to the change in preservice teachers' pedagogical beliefs. This study employed a qualitative narrative research design with six preservice elementary teachers. The data revealed that the preservice teachers' beliefs significantly changed after the teaching immersion program. The factors contributing to their changes were time constraints, classroom management, and pedagogical responsibilities. However, two factors transcended Calderhead’s framework. Thus, the development of an enhanced framework, Seven Aspects of Pedagogical Beliefs, to include the participants’ beliefs on school culture and mentoring practices. The results of the study provide the pedagogical beliefs, meaningful experiences, challenges, and changes in pedagogical beliefs of pre-service teachers. However, the study is limited to Bachelor of Elementary Education. The study reveals that quality education in teacher education could be furthered through curriculum changes; therefore, it is critical to investigate how pedagogical beliefs influence preservice teachers' classroom decisions. This study uses a qualitative approach to provide a comprehensive picture of preservice teachers' pedagogical beliefs. Given that their beliefs differed before and after their teaching immersion, it is vital to provide new insights into the factors causing this difference.

The study reported here is part of a larger project which began when it was announced that the science curriculum for primary schools in England would include the teaching of evolution. Evolution is widely seen by teachers and pre-service teachers as an area of science that is challenging to teach; one of the reasons often given is a concern that the science may conflict with some children’s religious beliefs. Teacher education courses were provided for pre-service primary school teachers to address the teaching of science and also RE (religious education). The motivation for the current study was to discover how, if at all, pre-service primary teachers changed their planned approaches to teaching evolution as a result of a cross-curricular seminar session that explored issues and questions that are frequently raised by school students and teachers as areas of concern. In particular, we looked for changes in pre-service teachers’ attitudes to teaching about evolution, their planned approach to teaching evolution, subject knowledge of science and perception of the relationship between religion and the nature of science before and after participating in the workshop. The data indicated that the experience of taking part in a cross-curricular session informed participants’ own understanding of evolution and of how science and religion relate and prompted this cohort to consider using this strategy as part of their own teaching.

The study investigated the impact of Chemistry-Focused Online Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teacher education on the awareness of STEM among preservice science teachers. A one-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental weak design was used to determine changes in preservice teachers’ STEM awareness. During the study, a 14-week Chemistry-Focused Online STEM course was provided to preservice science teachers. As part of this course, the theoretical knowledge about STEM was explained to students, and afterward, they completed two modules. Furthermore, preservice teachers also developed their chemistry-themed STEM lesson plans at the beginning of the course, after explaining theoretical knowledge about STEM at the end. The study group consisted of 17 senior preservice science teachers enrolled in the elective Teaching Chemistry in Elementary Education at a state university in the Marmara region during the spring semester of 2020–2021. The data were collected with the STEM Awareness Scale. The results revealed that chemistry-focused online STEM education enhances preservice science teachers’ STEM awareness. Potential implications from this research suggest that the preservice science teacher participants benefited significantly from chemistry-focused online STEM education while engaging in science and engineering practices and using chemistry knowledge to solve real-life problems. Cite this article as: Şahin-Topalcengiz, E., & Acar-Şeşen, B. (2024). The effects of online chemistry-themed design-based STEM education on preservice science teachers’ STEM awareness. HAYEF: Journal of Education, 21(3), 258-265.

Construction and validation of a test to assess (pre-service) teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK)

The purpose of this study was to explore the process of change in perception, attitude, and teaching efficacy of pre-service early childhood teachers through young children's literature education, based on “transactional theory.” The research questions was as follows: What is the change in perception, attitude, and teaching efficacy of pre-service early childhood teachers in early childhood literacy classes? 30 students in the third year of a 4-year teacher training institute participated in the study for 4 months. The data collected were a literature image map, a personal journal of the pre-service early childhood teachers, and a teaching efficacy test for literature. The results of the study are as follows. First, the change in pre-service teachers' perceptions related to children's literature is from simple to a detailed and complex knowledge on literature, and from a previous negative experience to a positive experience through a young children's literature class. Next, the pre -service early childhood teachers' attitude change related to infant literature is largely twofold: literature that has come to mean something for an individual and literature that encourages growth as a pre-school teacher. Lastly, pre-service teachers' change in teaching efficacy for literature improved the knowledge of a teacher, by recognizing the importance and influence of role, and connecting with theory and practice. Additionally, teaching efficacy is higher than before taking the class.

This study explored the professional knowledge (PCK) of Korean traditional music that pre-service elementary school teachers should have designed classes to cultivate it, conducted practical Korean music classes for pre-service elementary school teachers, and looked at the changes in cultivation. The study was proceeded as follows.
 First, PCK which is the professional knowledge of Korean music required for pre-service teachers was reviewed through previous research, and subject knowledge, teaching method knowledge, and student understanding knowledge were selected as necessary knowledge. second, In order to foster professional knowledge of Korean traditional music for pre-service teachers, the class design applying PCK was specified. Third, In order to form PCK in the designed class plan, teaching steps such as understanding the concept-exploring the concept expression of practical skills-application and execution of practical skills-internalization of practical skills-evaluating practical skills' are set, and based on this, Korean traditional music practical classes are conducted. conducted by pre-service teachers. Fourth, Through the distribution of questionnaires before and after class and the class diaries were submitted by pre-service teachers after mock lessons, changes in pre-service teachers' PCK cultivation could be confirmed. 
 As a result of the study, it was confirmed that there was a significant improvement in all professional knowledge of Korean music after conducting practical Korean music classes using PCK. In addition, it was confirmed that the prospective teachers gained confidence in the future Korean music class and that there was a change in their perception of the class. Through the above research results, it was confirmed that the practical education of Korean traditional music applied with PCK is effective for the development of professional knowledge for pre-service teachers and positively changes the perception of Korean traditional music education. Based on this study, research on Korean traditional music classes based on PCK should be systematically and diversely conducted, and research should be continued to prepare developmental measures to cultivate professional knowledge of traditional Korean music in pre-service teachers.

In this paper, we investigate the effects of a community- and school-based service learning experience (SLE) on pre-service physical education teachers’ Indigenous knowledge, cultural competency and pedagogy. Informed by the theoretical tenets of Indigenous research methodologies, experiential learning and critical reflection, we examine 55 final-year pre-service physical education teachers’ (age: 21.9 [8.3]; 10.7% low SES; 68% females) cultural learning and competency in a core unit of study with a six-week SLE. Measures of their experiences included reflective journals, multicultural teaching competency scales and focus group interviews. Findings support the design of the SLE, with statistically significant changes in pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their cultural competency (p < 0.001). Pre-service teachers were able to challenge their assumptions about Indigenous students, plan and implement student-centred and culturally relevant pedagogies. Attention is drawn to the design of this SLE and demonstrates the importance of using Indigenous community members and teachers as mentors, which has not been explored in previous SLE studies.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is the necessary professional knowledge for teachers and an important feature to distinguish teachers from scholars. The development of pre-service teachers’ PCK affects the quality of education. What are the aspects of the PCK of English pre-service teachers improved through educational practice? What are the influencing factors? To improve pre-service English teachers better understand the importance of educational practice, promote the development of professional knowledge and teaching competence, a questionnaire survey was used to study the development of PCK of pre-service English teachers, analyzed the development and the changes of pre-service teachers’ PCK in the educational practice. Pre-service English teachers have developed in the aspects of knowledge of pedagogical, knowledge of students, knowledge of subject matter, knowledge of environmental contexts. And the influencing factors mainly included communication with peers, experienced teachers; teaching experience and reflection; and personal observation. It indicates that the normal universities should carry out more practical courses, and demonstrates that pre-service teachers should pay more attention to educational practice, accumulate teaching experience, improve teaching quality and teaching competence, and strive to become an excellent and qualified teacher.

Professional identity creation: Examining the development of beginning preservice teachers' understanding of their work as teachers

As block-based programming grows in popularity within education, the integration of its application within teacher education programs needs to be investigated. This article examines block-based programming as a viable tool to teach elementary mathematics conceptually drawing on the connections pre-service teachers made between computational thinking and mathematics. This cross-comparative case study that includes a convergent, mixed-methods design examines how block-based coding and computational thinking for conceptual mathematics (B2C3Math) facilitated ten pre-service teachers’ connections made at a large southeastern US university. Connections between computational thinking and mathematics concepts were investigated while the pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards block-based programming as a conceptual mathematics teaching tool were queried. A focus is not placed on interactive games or simulations made using block-based programming to teach mathematics, but rather on pre-service teachers’ ability to design a lesson teaching mathematics conceptually through the programming process. Descriptive analysis reveals changes in pre-service teachers’ attitudes of the proposed teaching strategy following the implementation of B2C3Math. Pre-service teachers’ reflections and lesson designs provide insight into the quality of the connections made between computational thinking and mathematics for the purpose of conceptual mathematics teaching. Three critical cases are identified to illustrate the spectrum of all ten participants in relation to the major findings. Implications for research and practices using block-based programming for teacher education are discussed.

Lesson planning and presentation are regarded as an effective method that allows pre-service teachers to gain experience in the instructional processes and improve teaching skills. Lesson Portfolio and Presentations, not only is utilized as a method for increasing the quality of a teacher's education, but also used to research the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The purpose was to investigate changes in pre-service teachers' TPACK from their lesson portfolio and presentation practices conducted under the TPACK framework. The participants are 22 third-year pre-service teachers. An analysis was performed based on specific concepts from the projects, which had been developed to reveal the changes in pre-service teachers' TPACK components. Content analysis was used to analyze the observation forms, self-evaluations, videos and interviews. The study's findings indicate that pre-service teachers use GeoGebra tools to attain what they had specified in their instructional plans. When considered in terms of the TPACK components, pre-service teachers made noticeable progress.

The development of a teacher's professional identity is important in the world of education but is often faced with challenges between theory and practice, especially for pre-service English teachers in Indonesia. This gap in understanding the profession's complexity can impact pre-service teachers' professional readiness and commitment. This study explores the influence of teaching mentoring experiences through the Kampus Mengajar Program on pre-service English teachers' professional identity formation. By employing a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study focuses on the reflections of a fifth-semester English Education Department student who participated in the program in 2023. Data were collected through reflective journals and semi-structured interviews and then analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed significant changes in pre-service teachers' views of the profession, improved pedagogical competence, and the formation of a stronger professional identity through self-reflection. The conclusion of this study emphasizes that field experience and deep reflection play an important role in building the professional identity of pre-service teachers who are ready to face the world of education.