Teaching development grants final and financial report: Students' beliefs about teaching and learning and knowledge acquisition

With the introduction of BEd Core Curriculum and related Expected Learning Outcomes it is timely to examine the impact of the new programme on the student teachers' beliefs in knowledge acquisition, teaching and learning. In the broader context of learning outcomes, there is an important need for us to be able to demonstrate changes in students which might be attributable to the new programme design. This project covers both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, although the cross-sectional study will be more exploratory as the 2nd year (and beyond) students have not been involved with the new curriculum. The study is focused to study (a) our BEd students' epistemological beliefs and their beliefs about learning and teaching; (b) their beliefs when they enter our four-year BEd programmes and what are these beliefs attributable to; (c) if there are any changes in these beliefs as our students progress through the four-year BEd programmes; (d) if there are changes, what the changes might be attributable to; including the role FE experience plays in any changes; and (e) the relationships between student teachers' beliefs and actual teaching in the classroom. The study involves full-time BEd students in Yrs 1 and 4 (across ECE, primary and secondary, including languages). Data is collected through questionnaire, interviews and classroom observations. The findings generated from the project will inform future programme development and reviews including any future quality audits.