This article proposes a theoretical reflection on the articulation between teachers’ conceptions of particular knowledge objects on the one hand, and their professional action about these objects on the other. We will illustrate our point through two studies carried out in France and in Quebec in the field of the teaching of socially acute questions (SAQs). The first study focuses on the link between the social representations (Abric, 1994) of sustainable development (SD) among future teachers of humanities and natural sciences (...) and their practices with regard to education for sustainable development (ESD).The second study focuses on the relationship between a science teacher’s knowledge about the natural sciences (NS) as an object of knowledge and as an object of instruction. In order to enrich our reflection, we present an original operationalization of the concept of teaching practices, whose different dimensions (finalized, technical, interactive, affective) are put in relation with the concepts of social representations and relationships to knowledges. This perspective and theoretical reflection allows us to identify crossings and tensions between beliefs and teaching practices with regard to the SAQs in reference to the transformative-sociocritical and transmissive-positivist approaches of ESD. (shrink)

At Symposium No. 14, which took place as part of the 7th International Symposium on Education, a round table discussion was held with five speakers from the field of education at different levels of teaching. This round table was an opportunity to discuss the issues associated with the link between beliefs and pedagogical practices among teachers at different levels of teaching, as identified by the various papers, and to review experiences or training systems implemented to help support teachers in this (...) regard. The participants shared their experience of accompaniment future and beginning teachers, highlighting the discomforts felt by future and beginning teachers that corresponds to elements often raised in the literature. There were also processes put in place, depending on the different situations, to promote professional integration and integration into a school team, both through co-development processes and group or individual reflections on the knowledge and conceptions of these teachers who were coached. The analysis of their professional practice is a focal point reported by all the participants. (shrink)

The study presents partial results from a larger project aimed at supporting the professional development of beginning teachers with respect to their personal epistemology. Based on a thematic analysis of data from explanatory interviews, the article focuses on the articulation between beliefs (epistemological and pedagogical) and stated practices of ten beginning teachers of social sciences and humanities (SHS) in secondary schools. The results highlight the high degree of sophistication of the participants’ epistemological beliefs and the constructivist tendency of their conceptions (...) of teaching and learning. However, the analyses carried out show certain inconsistencies between the beliefs and practices of these teachers, from which a significant proportion of rather transmissive teaching approaches emerge. Finally, these results lead to the formulation of ways to support beginning SHS teachers in-service training around these issues. (shrink)

The articulation between epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching and learning, and teaching practices of secondary school science and humanities teachers has been little studied, particularly in the francophone world (Araújo-Oliveira, 2012, 2019 ; Bartos & Lederman, 2 014 ; Wanlin et al., 2019). Yet, while teachers display predominantly constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning, their actual teaching practices remain rather passive (TALIS international survey - OECD, 2019). After characterizing these three theoretical constructs in a sample of 215 Quebec secondary school (...) teachers (beginners, intermediate and experienced) in the humanities and social sciences and natural sciences, the article explores their articulations either through statistical analysis or by putting them into perspective in an interpretative phase of the research. The results are based on the quantitative analysis of teachers’ responses to a three-part closed online questionnaire. Statistical analyses (PCA, factorial ANOVA, correlations and Chi-square tests) show that teachers’ epistemological beliefs are rather refined, that there is an effect of seniority in the profession and an effect of the discipline taught on these beliefs, as well as a link between refined epistemological beliefs and traditional conceptions of teaching and learning. Finally, teachers’ self-reported practices appear to be insensitive to the discipline being taught. (shrink)

In french and english speaking countries, the articulation between epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching and learning and pedagogical practices of secondary school teachers in the natural sciences and humanities has been little studied (Araújo-Oliveira, 2012 ; Bartos et Lederman, 2014 ; Wanlin et al., 2019). Yet, while teachers display predominantly constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning, their teaching practices remain rather passive (OECD, 2019). Like in Therriault et al. (2018-2023), this article explores the characteristics of epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching (...) and learning, and teaching practices among a population of 112 secondary school teachers (beginners, intermediate and experienced) in the humanities and natural sciences in French-speaking Belgium. In a second step, we explore the articulations between these three theoretical constructs either from statistical analyses or from a more interpretative perspective. Quantitative analysis of the data (PCA, factorial ANOVA, correlations and Chi-square) show that teachers’ epistemological beliefs are rather refined, that there is an effect of professional seniority on these beliefs and that there is a link between refined epistemological beliefs and traditional conceptions of teaching and learning. Finally, teachers’ self-reported practices appear to be insensitive to the discipline being taught. (shrink)