Turkish and Singaporean Pre-service Physics Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching and Use of Technology

GÜRÇAY D., Wong B., Chai C. S.

ASIA-PACIFIC EDUCATION RESEARCHER, vol.22, no.2, pp.155-162, 2013 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 22 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2013
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s40299-012-0008-2
  • Journal Name: ASIA-PACIFIC EDUCATION RESEARCHER
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.155-162
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Beliefs about pedagogy and the use of technology affect the integration ICT in classrooms. This comparative study explores the pedagogical beliefs of pre-service physics teachers from two different cultures and examines the relationship between teachers' beliefs about constructivist and traditional teaching and their related beliefs about the use of technology. This study was conducted with 115 Turkish and 90 Singaporean pre-service physics teachers. The results indicate that both Turkish and Singaporean pre-service physics teachers tend to believe in constructivist teaching which are aligned with their respective countries reform efforts. However, there is a significant difference between Turkish and Singaporean pre-service physics teachers in terms of constructivist use of technology beliefs. According to the results of this study more efforts are needed to insure that ICT is used more productively to support the teaching of physics in a constructivist manner and to create more effective physics classes.

Beliefs about pedagogy and the use of technology affect the integration ICT in classrooms. This comparative study explores the pedagogical beliefs of pre-service physics teachers from two different cultures and examines the relationship between teachers' beliefs about constructivist and traditional teaching and their related beliefs about the use of technology. This study was conducted with 115 Turkish and 90 Singaporean pre-service physics teachers. The results indicate that both Turkish and Singaporean pre-service physics teachers tend to believe in constructivist teaching which are aligned with their respective countries reform efforts. However, there is a significant difference between Turkish and Singaporean pre-service physics teachers in terms of constructivist use of technology beliefs. According to the results of this study more efforts are needed to insure that ICT is used more productively to support the teaching of physics in a constructivist manner and to create more effective physics classes.