Book Chapter Synopsis: Teacher Beliefs About Teaching

The beliefs that teachers hold about teaching shape not only their own pedagogical practices but also the experiences of their students. In the South African context, where education remains deeply affected by historical inequalities, understanding these beliefs is critical. My chapter, Teacher Beliefs About Teaching, in the forthcoming book Preparedness to Teach, explores how pre-service teachers at two South African universities—Atlantic Cape University (ACU) and Cape Highlands University (CHU)—develop and shift their beliefs over the course of their teacher training.

Teaching is more than the delivery of curriculum content—it is a relational and ethical practice. Teachers act as knowledge facilitators, role models, and agents of social change. But their effectiveness in these roles depends on their beliefs about education, learning, and their students.

Research consistently shows that teacher beliefs influence their classroom practices. In some cases, these beliefs align with progressive pedagogies and inclusive education policies. In others, entrenched assumptions and traditional views can hinder educational reform. Understanding these beliefs can therefore help inform teacher training programs to ensure that future educators are not only skilled but also critically reflective of their role in shaping South Africa’s education landscape.

Through survey data and focus group discussions, my study followed pre-service teachers from their first or second year through to their final year, capturing how their beliefs evolved over time.

🔹 Belief in Social Justice and Equity

• ACU (First Year): 78% strongly agreed that “for social justice to exist in schools, each learner (regardless of background) must be given equal opportunities to learn.”

• ACU (Fourth Year): Strong agreement with the belief that treating learners equally promotes social justice rose from 26% to 58%.

This suggests that as students progressed through their training, they became more aware of the role teachers play in ensuring equitable education. However, challenges remain—many pre-service teachers also acknowledged the difficulty of personalising education to meet the needs of diverse learners.

🔹 Perceptions of Learners and Learning

• CHU (Second Year): 60% strongly agreed that all learners are different and should be taught accordingly.

• CHU (Fourth Year): This belief remained largely stable at 69%.

• ACU (First Year to Fourth Year): A significant shift occurred, with strong agreement rising from 21% to 72%.

This indicates a growing recognition among ACU student-teachers of learner diversity and the need for differentiated instruction. However, a paradox emerged—while many strongly agreed that students should be taught according to their differences, the same percentage also strongly agreed that it is impractical to tailor teaching to individual needs. This highlights a persistent tension between educational ideals and classroom realities.

🔹 The Role of Teachers as Ethical and Value-Driven Educators

• By their final year, 67% of ACU and 72% of CHU pre-service teachers strongly agreed that teaching should be guided by ethical principles.

• A shift was observed at CHU, where learners moved away from viewing teaching as “fun” towards emphasising its ethical and value-driven dimensions.

This evolution suggests that as student teachers gained more classroom experience, they began to see teaching as a serious moral and ethical responsibility rather than simply an engaging activity.

While pre-service teachers generally showed a growing alignment with progressive educational values, some contradictions persisted:

✔ Belief in Learner Diversity vs. Practical Challenges: While most acknowledged that learners have different needs, many also felt that tailoring teaching to individuals was impractical.

✔ Teacher Accountability vs. External Influences: Some teachers strongly believed they were accountable for student learning, while others placed more responsibility on parents and government policies.

✔ Idealism vs. Classroom Reality: Many entered training with an idealised view of teaching but later recognised structural barriers that limited their ability to implement change.

Understanding these shifts in belief is crucial for shaping teacher education programs. If we want future teachers to be effective, inclusive, and critically engaged, their training must:

✔ Provide realistic but inspiring insights into the teaching profession.

✔ Address the challenges of implementing learner-centred pedagogies in under-resourced environments.

✔ Equip teachers with practical strategies to balance ethical teaching with classroom realities.

✔ Encourage critical reflection on the social and political role of education in South Africa.

This study reinforces the idea that teachers are not just passive enforcers of curriculum—they are active agents who shape the learning experiences of their students. However, their ability to enact meaningful change depends on the beliefs they hold.

As South Africa continues to grapple with educational inequality, we must ensure that teacher training programs foster reflective, socially aware, and adaptable educators. By doing so, we can bridge the gap between idealistic educational values and the realities of the classroom, ultimately contributing to a more just and effective education system.

(This book is in publication with African Sun Media, a link will follow soon💥)