Pre-service Teachers’ Humanistic vs. Custodial Beliefs: Before and After the Student Teaching Experience

Abstract

The student teaching experience is cited as one of the most critical facets of teachers’ professional development. However, teachers’ beliefs about pedagogical practices and disciplinary procedures, as well as their perceptions of students, also influence the approaches they use in the classroom. This study uses a humanistic and custodial orientation theoretical framework to compare the beliefs of pre-service teachers immediately after having completed their core didactic coursework – but prior to the student teaching experience – with their beliefs immediately after the student teaching experience. Findings from this study reveal that upon completion of their didactic coursework, pre-service-teachers’ espouse humanistic beliefs, in contrast to a custodial orientation. Furthermore, although the use of external rewards to shape student behavior as well as other specific management and pedagogical practices were more highly prioritized after immersion in the field, student teaching did not appear to alter pre-service teachers’ core beliefs.