Teacher Beliefs and Practices That Impart Self System and Positive Psychology Attributes
Open Access
- Author:
- Brzycki, Henry G
- Graduate Program:
- Educational Theory and Policy
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 04, 2009
- Committee Members:
- David P Baker, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David P Baker, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Madhu Suri Prakash, Committee Member
Katerina Bodovski, Committee Member
Frederick Martin Brown, Committee Member - Keywords:
- self in teaching and learning
self theory
positive psychology
cognitive psychology
teacher effectiveness
teacher beliefs
Adolescent Development
school reform
purpose of schooling - Abstract:
- We are in an education revolution where children are learning about life through their schooling and people are spending much more of their lives in school. Yet, little is known about the complex development that occurs through schooling; the dominant paradigm in a child’s life for learning about themselves. The study of the self in cognitive developmental and positive psychology has taken on heightened importance due to the increasing awareness of the central, functional role that the self plays in development across the life-span. This study investigated teacher beliefs and practices for imparting self system and positive psychology attributes because of the critical link between the construction of the self and happier, healthier, more successful children. This study considered the interactions among the beliefs that teachers hold about the importance of their role in the development of the selves of their students, the classroom practices used to impart self system and positive psychology attributes. Research design is a combination of qualitative interviewing (n=25) using grounded theory methods; and a case study at the middle school level. Open-ended, in-depth interview protocol utilize: subjective happiness, meaning in life, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being scales from the Positive Psychology Center. I argue that teachers can do much more to impact the human development of students. Most studies that are conducted within a school context consider academic achievement as the dependent variable or outcome of a child’s schooling. Teachers are important in the life of a child not merely for imparting academic content knowledge, but additionally and more directly than is known, in aiding their cognitive and human development in terms of an integrated, whole view of children, or a self system. Understanding the differing teacher beliefs and intervention and instructional strategies used to impart happy, healthy and whole children is the focus of this study. Results included: teachers hold deep beliefs to empower adolescent development; teachers have minimal classroom strategies available; there is a gap between espoused theories of action versus theories in use; this study developed a theory that an alignment of teacher beliefs with classroom practices that focus upon an integrated self leads to developmental outcomes. Implications include policy, curricula, and teacher development. Suggestions for further studies were also made.