Robert Evans & Julie Luft 
The Role of Science Teachers’ Beliefs in International Classrooms 
From Teacher Actions to Student Learning

This book provides science teacher educators and science educational researchers with a current overview on the roles of beliefs in science education settings. There are four focal areas in the book: an overview of this field of research, lines of research, implications for policy, and implications for educators. Within each of these areas there are specific explorations that examine important areas such as, the roles of beliefs in teaching and learning, the impact of beliefs on student achievement, and ways in which beliefs are connected to teacher actions in the classroom. Throughout all of these discussions, there is a focus on international perspectives. Those reading this book can use the research presented to consider how to confront, challenge, and cultivate beliefs during the teacher professional development process.

Table of Content

Section One Introduction: Overview of the Field; Teaching Self-Efficacy of Science Teachers; Overview of the Role of Teacher Beliefs in Science Education; Section Two Orientations Towards Beliefs Research; Cultural Effects on Self-Efficacy Beliefs; Teacher Professional Development and Self-Efficacy Beliefs; Cross-Cultural Research and Perspectives on Epistemology, Learning Environments, and Culture; Situating Beliefs in the Theory of Planned Behavior; Measurement of Science Teachers’ Efficacy Beliefs; Section Three Policy and Beliefs Research; NSF-Funded Research on Beliefs in STEM Education; Connecting Teacher Beliefs Research and Policy: An Overview and Potential Approaches; Section Four Beliefs Research and Teachers; Becoming an Activist Science Teacher: a Longitudinal Case Study of an Induction Intervention; Examining Science Teachers’ Orientations in an Era of Reform: The Role of Context on Beliefs and Practice; Science Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Change Processes, and Professional Development; Science Teachers’ Beliefs about Nature of Science and Science-Technology-Society Issues: Cross-cultural Results Through A New Standardized Assessment; Challenges of Elementary Science Teaching; Index.