Conceptions of teaching: A comparison between male and female pre-service physical education teachers with varying practicum experiences

Although it is generally expected that people engaged in a similar line of work are likely to share some common thoughts and feelings, research such as those by Power (1981) and Zeichner and Tabachnick (1983) showed that pre-service teachers go through changes in their belief systems as they pass through the passage of teacher education. As teachers’ belief system may affect their ultimate actions in the classroom, it would be of interest to identify the types of belief changes they make, if any, and whether these changes conform or deviate from programme aims. Whereas many factors could influence a teacher’s process of professional socialization, this study sets out to examine whether gender and practicum experience contribute to differences in conceptions of teaching. Copyright © 2000 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.