Student teacher beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice and similarity between student teachers' and cooperating teachers' beliefs were investigated in this study. Sixty student teachers in the department of early childhood education comple...
Student teacher beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice and similarity between student teachers' and cooperating teachers' beliefs were investigated in this study. Sixty student teachers in the department of early childhood education completed the Teacher's Belief Questionnaire which consisted of 2 subscales, one of 15 items assessing endorsement of developmentally appropriate practice and the other of 24 items assessing endorsement of more traditional practice before and after practicum. Student teachers asked to indicate the degree to which they perceived each of the statements of Teacher's Belief Questionnaire to endorse their cooperating teachers. Early childhood student teachers endorsed traditional practices after the practicum more than before the practicum. Simllarity between student teachers' and cooperating teachers' beliefs was partially found. That is, cooperating teachers influenced student teachers' beliefs about traditional practices but not about developmentally appropriate practices.