Perceived preparedness and teaching beliefs of differentiated instruction: from prospective teachers' perspective

• Sally Wai-Yan Wan ^[1]
  1. [1] Chinese University of Hong Kong

     Chinese University of Hong Kong

     RAE de Hong Kong (China)

     
• Localización: Search and research [Recurso electrónico]: teacher education for contemporary contexts / coord. por Juan José Mena Marcos, Ana García-Valcárcel Muñoz-Repiso, Francisco José García Peñalvo, Marta Martín del Pozo, 2017, ISBN 978-84-9012-769-8, págs. 73-100
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Differentiated instruction has drawn attractions from the policymakers and educators in the Asia-Pacific regions, including Hong Kong, whereas Hong Kong’s recent curriculum reform, Learning to Learn, recommends schools and teachers to use differentiated instruction in classrooms. However, previous studies revealed that its implementation is not yet implanted in the real classroom practice owing to a gap between teaching beliefs and the principles of differentiated instruction, as well as teachers’ lack of training of the use of differentiated strategies. The idea of differentiated instruction was initiated in the western countries. Its implementation is still uncertain and insufficiently evidenced. Although teacher education is one of the keystones that affect curriculum implementation, there has been a lack of empirical studies investigating prospective teachers’ beliefs and needs concerning differentiated instruction in the Asian regions. It is thus the aim of this study to examine Hong Kong prospective teachers’ perceived preparedness and teaching beliefs upon differentiated instruction. In the study, prospective teachers were oriented towards differentiation but they were not completely ready for taking actions in differentiation. Despite recognizing the importance of understanding students’ characteristics and needs, prospective teachers did not hold high expectations upon students. They generally tended to be less prepared in using student-dependent approaches in differentiation. Discussion of the findings and implications for teacher education and research directions will be presented.