Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington
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Pre-service teachers' evaluation of belief relevant information on a controversial issue in Āotearoa, New Zealand: Should te reo Māori be compulsory in New Zealand schools?

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posted on 2021-11-14, 00:15 authored by Matthews, Una Elizabeth Pania

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the influence beliefs have on pre-service teachers' evaluations of belief-relevant arguments and belief change on a controversial issue. In the quantitative phase, pre-service teachers (n = 23) at a university in New Zealand completed a topic belief-scale on a controversial issue in Āotearoa/New Zealand (i.e., Should te reo Māori be compulsory in New Zealand schools?). Then they read a text that included arguments for and against compulsory Te reo Māori while they thought-aloud (i.e., verbalized their thoughts as they read). After they read, they completed the topic-belief scale again. The quantitative results showed that participants tended to make refutational comments when they read belief-incompatible arguments, whereas they tended to make supportive comments when the read belief-compatible arguments. Further, their beliefs became stronger after they read. In the qualitative phase, interviews were conducted and analysed to explain why some participants' beliefs became stronger, whereas other participants' beliefs did not change. The interview data revealed individual and contextual factors influenced how participants evaluated the text and were related to their beliefs after they read. These data provide important information about the role of individual experiences in preservice teacher beliefs about a controversial topic on cultural responsiveness.

History

Copyright Date

2013-01-01

Date of Award

2014-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

Author Retains Copyright

Degree Discipline

Education

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Masters

Degree Name

Master of Education

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

930599 Education and Training Systems not elsewhere classified

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Research Masters Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Education Policy and Implementation

Advisors

McCrudden, Matthew; Hynds, Anne