Changes in Beliefs of Teachers - Essay Example

Most people believe that teachers are reluctant in implementing changes in their teaching strategies because they feel threatened, defensive, and perhaps rushed when somebody demands a change in their methods. Teachers undertake change voluntarily, following their sense of what their students need and what is working. Voluntary change is what teachers do in their classrooms; it does not necessarily lead to exemplary teaching (Richardson).

The induction teacher’s and experienced teachers’ approaches to change management may be different. The induction teachers experienced more change in their beliefs than their practices, whereas experienced teachers demonstrated more change in their practices than their beliefs (Luft,p. 531). The experienced teachers always have a strong belief in the traditional methods of teaching, but they were forced to change their practices because of the external pressure from the authorities. On the other hand, the induction teachers may not have many practical experiences and their beliefs also may not be adequate. So they will be more flexible as far as change in beliefs is concerned.

“If all teachers make decisions autonomously, the schooling of an individual student could be quite incoherent and ineffective. This, too, suggests that help, direction, or encouragement provided to staff rather than to individuals could be necessary to promote change that is valuable to the learner” (Richardson). Beliefs are critical when it comes to understanding a teacher’s practice. For example, two mathematics teachers with similar knowledge may teach in different ways. Understanding beliefs were more useful in predicting teachers’ classroom decisions (Luft & Roehrig, p.40). Institutions cannot behave like a marketplace where all the deals were based on competition and bargaining. It should function in a structured manner with a clear vision and mission. For that purpose, the teaching strategies must be unified and standardized irrespective of the individual beliefs of the teachers. “Individuals can hold beliefs that are independent of one another and have a varied impact on actions or cognitive processes” (Luft & Roehrig, p.40). But these beliefs should never interfere with the interests of others. Teachers are responsible for shaping the future generation. But they should never inject their beliefs and ideologies into the blood of students. For example, a teacher who believes in communist ideologies should never try to spread communism in the classroom. The students must be given the freedom of shaping their personality through natural selection.

In short, the teachers have the freedom of keeping their beliefs intact, but they should never try to inject their beliefs into students. Induction teachers undergo more changes in their beliefs than practices while experienced teachers undergo more changes in their practices rather than beliefs when the change occurs or is implemented.