Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Volume 43 - Issue 1 - Article 6 - An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge

Oct 15, 2026

Beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge affect how preservice teachers engage with and learn from knowledge sources and how they later practice. This study addresses inconsistent prior results, extending inquiry beyond epistemic questionnaires through contextual analysis. Sixty-six Norwegian elementary and lower-secondary preservice teachers completed the BECK scale in first- and second-year study (T1, T2), showing greater tentativeness at T2. Findings detail beliefs about change in knowledge and practice, reasons, and change rate, informing teacher education.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages19

Reading Time48 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Epistemic Belief Research

Approaches to Epistemic Beliefs

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 43 | Issue 1 | Article 6 | | --- | --- | | 2018
An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’Beliefs about the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge
Leila E. Ferguson
Kristiania University College, [leila.ferguson@kristiania.no](leila.ferguson@kristiania.no)
JoLunn Brownlee
Queensland Univeristy of Technology, [j.brownlee@qut.edu.au](j.brownlee@qut.edu.au) | | Recommended Citation Ferguson, L. E., & Lunn Brownlee, J. (). An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 43 (1). Retrieved from [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/6](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/6) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/6](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol43/iss1/6) Australian Journal of Teacher Education An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge Leila E. Ferguson Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway Jo Lunn Brownlee Queensland University of Technology Abstract: Beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge may influence how preservice teachers engage with and learn from knowledge sources in teacher education, and their subsequent practice. In light of inconsistencies in prior findings that mainly employ epistemic questionnaires, we extended research focusing on a contextual analysis. Sixty-six elementary and lower-secondary preservice teachers in Norway responded to the Beliefs about the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge (BECK) scale in the first and second year of study, respectively. Participants believed knowledge about teaching and learning was more tentative and evolving at T2 than at T1 (t (65) = 2.0, p = .049, Cohen’s d =.23). We uncovered beliefs about the ways knowledge and practice will change, reasons for change, and the rate of change in teaching knowledge. The results suggest preservice teachers hold specific beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge that should be addressed by teacher educators. Introduction The beliefs preservice teachers hold about knowledge and knowing (epistemic beliefs) play a role in their learning and engagement throughout their teacher education programmes (Brownlee, Schraw & Berthelsen, 2011; Ravindran, Greene, & Debacker, 2005) . For example, epistemic beliefs influence preservice teachers ’ ability to evaluate different types of teaching knowledge (cf. Greene & Yu, 2016), as well as their motivation to learn from these sources (Bråten & Ferguson, 2015) . Moreover, epistemic beliefs influence learners’ problemsolving and learning and understanding of complex information (Strømsø & Kammerer, 2016; Valinides & Angeli, 2008), which are vital for future teachers who will be responsible for planning, instructing and evaluating learning in others, as well as for continuing to develop their own knowledge bases (Buehl & Fives, 2016) . The beliefs preservice teachers hold about knowledge and knowing will likely have important consequences for the nature and content of their future classrooms (Feucht, 2010; Schommer-Aikins, 2004) and practice (Brownlee et al., 2011; Lunn Brownlee, Ferguson & Ryan, 2017) . It is therefore important that teacher educators understand the kinds of epistemic beliefs that preservice teachers are likely to hold and how these might influence learning and teaching in teacher education programmes. In this paper, we focus on preservice teachers’ beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge, because these are considered to be core epistemic beliefs (Trautwein & Ludtke, 2007b) . Knowledge about preservice teachers’ epistemic beliefs should be compelling for teacher educators because it can help them to help their students understand more about the nature of teaching knowledge and to motivate them to value and engage with different knowledge sources. It will also aid them in fa

FAQs

What is the study’s main focus?

The paper examines preservice teachers’ beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge as core epistemic beliefs and how these beliefs relate to learning and teaching in teacher education.

How was the certainty of teaching knowledge measured?

Sixty-six Norwegian preservice teachers responded to the Beliefs about the Certainty of Teaching Knowledge (BECK) scale during the first and second years of study.

What key result did the study find about T1 versus T2?

Participants believed knowledge about teaching and learning was more tentative and evolving at T2 than at T1, with reported statistical support (t(65) = 2.0, p = .049).

Why do the authors argue teacher educators should address these beliefs?

Because preservice teachers hold specific beliefs about the certainty of teaching knowledge that can shape how they value and engage with different knowledge sources and can influence future classroom practice.

Oct 15, 2026

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