Exploring teacher beliefs and classroom practices through reflective practice: A case study

TLDR

The study investigates how a second‑language reading teacher’s stated beliefs relate to his classroom practices and considers implications for future research. The authors conducted a reflective case study of one teacher, examining the link between his expressed beliefs and observed classroom practices. The study found that the teacher’s complex beliefs were partially reflected in his practices, and that reflective articulation heightened his awareness of their impact, corroborating earlier research on belief‑practice links.

Abstract

This article presents a case study that explored and reflected on the relationship between the stated beliefs and observed classroom practices of one second language reading teacher. The findings of this study revealed that this particular teacher holds complex beliefs about teaching reading that were evident to some extent in many of his classroom practices. Additionally, this study found that by articulating and reflecting on his beliefs, the teacher became more aware of the meaning and impact of these beliefs on his classroom practices. Findings from this study correlate with findings from previous studies in first language (L1) reading research that examined the relationship between teacher beliefs and classroom practices. Implications for future research are also discussed.