Reflections on Teachers' Conceptions of Teaching

Abstract

After the launch of the new curriculum reforms at the beginning of the new millennia, teachers were expected to transform their conceptions of education by absorbing ideas such as "dual subjectivity," "democratic equality," "scientific inquiry," "collaborative learning," and so on. What sorts of conceptions of teaching are manifested in instructors' teaching practices within the routine school environment? This paper will introduce a case study of a Beijing elementary school. The information was collected through interviews and observation of instructors' classroom teaching practices and conceptions of education. The findings show that teachers' views of knowledge have not substantially changed since the introduction of the reforms: teachers still see themselves as "monopolizing" and "selling" knowledge. This traditional view of knowledge makes interactions between teachers and students in the classroom very one-sided. It is therefore necessary to review and discuss the "practical conceptions of teaching" that teachers manifest in their classroom teaching practices.