Tracking changes in pre-service EFL teacher beliefs in Greece: A longitudinal study

Abstract

This article reports on a longitudinal study that aims to investigate pre-service EFL teacher beliefs about learning and teaching in Greece. The study attempts to track possible changes in those beliefs during a 3-year teacher education program and explores the impact of teaching practice, in particular, on student teachers’ beliefs. The results indicate that while there is a gradual and sometimes significant development in student teachers’ beliefs during the program, student teachers’ engagement in the teaching practice seems to have a low impact on the development of their beliefs. Those findings are interpreted with reference to the structure and context of the specific teacher education program and can be useful for the design and development of EFL teacher education programs.