An Ecological Examination of Student Teachers’ Belief Development During the Teaching Practicum

Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development as the framework, this study explores how the ecological context of student teachers affect their belief development during the teaching practicum. Findings reveal that during the teaching practicum, student teachers interacted directly or indirectly with their ecological environments, including students, parents, mentors, supervisors, school policies, culture and social trends, which led them to develop, confirm, integrate, discard, or modify their beliefs. Findings also reveal that ecological environments may not only encourage but also impede student teachers’ belief development depending on what kind of influences they exert on them. Lastly, findings suggest that although macrosystem locates the most distant in student teachers’ ecological environments, factors within it may exert a huge influence on other environments and thus have a huge impact on student teachers. Based on the above findings, this study calls upon more opportunities for student teachers to participate in real-world professional practice so that they can put their beliefs to test. More training is also needed for mentors and supervisors to support student teachers’ belief development.