The psychologizing of teacher education: Formalist thinking and preservice teachers’ beliefs

Abstract

This study evaluates the assumption common to teacher education programs that, when preservice teachers’ subject matter knowledge is enhanced by a formal psychological understanding of learners and learning, superior instruction results. Preservice language arts teachers (N = 113) were asked to determine what they thought would constitute appropriate responses to a middle school student's request for feedback about his poem. The responses of the preservice teachers were such that formalist thinking predominated over instructional feedback intended to increase literary skills. The researchers argue that, if preservice teachers’ beliefs are hardy and often prove highly resistant to change, there is reason to be concerned with the educational perspectives that a formalistic understanding of psychology helps foster.