Teachers' Personal Epistemologies

The focus of this book is to explore teachers' evolving personal epistemologies, or thebeliefs we hold about the origin and development of knowledge in the context of teaching.The chapters focus on a range of conceptual frameworks about how university and field-based experiences influencethe connections between teachers' personal epistemologies and teaching practice. In an earlier volume weinvestigated preservice and inservice teachers' beliefs and teaching practices (Brownlee, Schraw and Berthelsen,2011). While we addressed the nature of teachers' personal epistemologies, learning and teaching practices, andapproaches for changing beliefs throughout teacher education programs, the volume did not address conceptualframeworks for the development of teacher's personal epistemologies. To address this gap, the book is focused onteacher educators, teachers and teacher education programmers in universities with an overall aim of highlightinghow we might support preservice teachers' involvement in learning that is challenging and inservice teachers'engagement in professional experiences that promote changes in teaching practice. We argue that teachers need to beencouraged to question their beliefs and develop increasingly sophisticated beliefsabout their knowledge and their students' knowledge that facilitate learning andintellectual growth.