Teacher views about constructivist instruction and personal epistemology: a national study in Taiwan

Abstract

This study investigated the views about constructivist instruction and personal epistemology of the secondary earth science teachers in Taiwan. Participants were assessed through a paper‐and‐pencil survey and a Learning environment preference questionnaire (LEP) designed to explore personal epistemology. On a five‐point Likert scale, teachers, on average, showed a neutral agreement on constructivist instruction. The content analysis suggested that teachers held alternative views about the nature of the constructivist instruction. LEP scores were found to be statistically associated with gender, education, current teaching level and years of teaching; the score distribution indicated that most teachers had not developed a constructivist‐compatible epistemology. By one‐way ANOVA, it was suggested that views about the constructivist instruction were aligned with personal epistemology.

Keywords:

• constructivist instruction
• personal epistemology
• teacher views

Acknowledgement

Funding of this research was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan, under grant numbers NSC 92‐2511‐s‐003‐048.