Research in Science & Technological Education

Vol. 26, No. 2, July 2008, 185–202

ISSN 0263-5143 print/ISSN 1470-1138 online

© 2008 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/02635140802037328

http://www.informaworld.com

Physics instruction in secondary schools: An investigation of

teachers’ beliefs towards physics laboratory and ICT

Anastassia Siorenta and Athanassios Jimoyiannis*

Department of Social and Educational Policy, University of

Peloponnese, Greece

2262008 Original Article Taylor & Francis 000000July 2008

ajimoyia@uop.gr CRST_A_303900.sgm Taylor and Francis Ltd
Athanassios Jimoyiannis 10.1080/02635140802037328 0263-5143
print/1470-1138 online Research in Science & Technological
Education

This paper reports on the examination of physics teachers’ beliefs

and perceptions of laboratory and ICT supported physics instruction.
The findings indicate that the teachers in the sample were generally
positive about the affordances offered by the physics lab and ICT in
physics instruction. However, school culture context, mainly the
need to cover the physics content in the mandated curriculum and
to prepare the students for their examinations, constitutes a critical
factor shaping teachers’ views about physics education in
secondary schools. There are three discrete groups of physics
teachers identified, which exhibited a rather consistent approach
across the research items: (a) a group of traditional teachers, whose
beliefs are dominated by rigorous presentation of the physics
content while they are unwilling to incorporate laboratory and ICT-
based activities in their classroom practice; (b) a second one
consisted of non-traditional teachers, who are positive about the
adoption of laboratory and ICT-based subject instruction; and (c) a
third group of undecided teachers who combine elements of both
belief structures and vacillate between traditional and non
traditional approaches. Moreover, the multivariate analysis indicates
that personal factors (for example teaching experience, age,
teacher training and ICT competence) are strongly associated with
teachers’ beliefs and perceptions. The paper ends with some
implications for the effective preparation and continuous support of
physics teachers.

Keywords: physics education; ICT; teachers’ beliefs

Introduction

In many countries around the globe there is a prominent debate

about fundamental changes in science education aiming to prepare
young people for the increasing needs of scientific and technological
competence in the future (De Vos and Reiding, 1999; IOP, 2001;
NCE, 2004; Neuschatz and McFarling, 1999; NRC, 1996; Rennie,
Goodrum, and Hackling, 2001; SCF, 1998). During the last few
years, educational reform and research projects have been
launched for school science in western countries, such as ‘Project
2061’ (AAAS, 1993) in the USA; ‘Science for public understanding’ in
Britain (Nuffield Foundation, 2002); and the PISA research program
(OECD, 2006).

It appears that many of the reform efforts in different countries

share common educational objectives, which are apparently driven
by the need for wider changes in the traditional approaches
followed in science instruction.

According to the traditional instruction, science is presented as a

rigid body of facts, theories and rules to be memorized rather than a
way of thinking and knowing about phenomena of the natural world
(Hewson and Hewson, 1987; Koballa et al., 2000; McDermott, 1993).
Particularly, in secondary physics education emphasis appears to
exist on:

*Teachers’ lectures to transmit the physics content by means of

verbal explanation;

*Covering the content in the mandated curriculum;

*Preparing students for the examinations;

*Strictly following textbooks and approved written materials;

*Training students to acquire the skills needed to solve conventional

paper-pencil problems demanding complicated mathematical
formulas (especially in upper secondary schools).

The idea that teachers are the most influential factor in educational
changes is not a new one. It is widely recognized that teachers’
educational beliefs are strong indicators of their planning,
instructional decisions and classroom practices (Bandura, 1986;
Pajares, 1992). Both prospective and in-service science teachers
develop their ideas, conceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about
teaching and learning through two different but long-lasting
experiences (Aguirre and Haggerty, 1995; Gunstone et al., 1993):
(a) from the time they have spent as students, therefore, they are
influenced by their own school science teachers by accepting or
rejecting the instructive models they used. Students’ beliefs have
been steadily forming since their school years, and in many respects
do not change significantly during their university education; (b)
from their own teaching experience and everyday classroom habits
as teachers.

Science teachers’ beliefs towards best teaching strategies in the

school practice are not consistent with the outcomes already
existing as a consequence of science education research (Haney,
Czerniak, and Lumpe, 1996). Nevertheless, several studies have
shown that the teachers’ beliefs and conceptions of science
teaching are dominated by traditional approaches aiming at content
knowledge transmission and seem to be consistent with their
classroom practice (Angell et al., 2004; Hewson and Hewson, 1987;
Koballa et al., 2000; Lederman, 1999; Tsai,
2002). Research also supports the idea that teaching practice in the
classroom is particularly influenced by the sense teachers develop
of what science and the learning of science is and means, from both
the epistemological and the philosophical perspective (Flores et al.,
2000; Koulaidis and Ogborn, 1995; Lederman, 1999).

Experienced teachers exhibit a more cohesive behaviour than their

younger colleagues which, contrary to their perceptions of science
teaching, followed a strategy of knowledge transmission rather than
students’ participation in a physics course (Mellado, 1998). A study
concerning Spanish teachers’ views of the goals of science
education in secondary schools (Furio et al., 2002) has shown that
teachers gave priority to the extensive coverage of the content,
while they referred to ‘the importance of the goals that enable
students to achieve enough preparation so as to follow future
studies and they attached less importance to their training as
persons or as future citizens’.

Simmons et al. (1999) argue that most of the novice teachers

considered that the best form in which their students can learn
science is the same as they themselves used when they were at
school. Flores et al. (2000) analyzed the changes in physics
teachers epistemological and learning conceptions shown after a
specialization programme in teaching physics. Experienced teachers
generate routines and acquire practical knowledge which influences
and guides their professional actions and decisions in classroom
practice (Munby, Cunningham, and Lock, 2000; Tobin and McRobbie,
1996). Practical knowledge refers to the integrated set of
knowledge, conceptions, beliefs and values which teachers develop
in the context of school culture. Research on teachers’ practical
knowledge has revealed that it is based upon experience, is action
oriented, rooted in context, related to views of subject matter, tacit
and integrated (Van Driel, Beijaard, and Verloop, 2001). Eisner
(2000) pointed out that classroom practice is in great part
determined by the forms of student assessment employed.

Undoubtedly, teachers’ educational beliefs have a powerful impact

on their willingness to adopt curriculum reforms and new teaching
strategies. Teachers do not easily change their educational ideas
and conceptions, and even less their educational practices in the
classroom (Kagan, 1992). However, many of the reform initiatives in
the past have often been unsuccessful because of their top-down
approach, which failed to take teachers’ existing knowledge, beliefs
and attitudes into account (Van Driel, Beijaard, and Verloop, 2001).
Cuban (1990) argued that reforms return repeatedly because
policymakers discount individuals’ belief factors which are needed
to make change occur.

Understanding the factors that favour or hinder the processes of

change in teachers’ educational beliefs systems has become one of
the principal themes in science education research (see Lederman,
1999; Mellado, 1998; Van Driel, Beijaard, and Verloop, 2001, among
others).

Therefore, information about science teachers’ beliefs and about the

types of experiences that teachers provide in their classrooms is an
essential prerequisite for the successful implementation of reforms
aiming at improving students’ learning in science. This paper
reports on the investigation of the beliefs and perceptions that
physics teachers held in relation to the use of laboratory and ICT
supported physics instruction in Greek secondary schools.

ICT and physics education

During the past decade a great debate about the integration of ICT
in education is evolving between researchers, policymakers and
educators. In this framework, ICT is perceived to be inherent to the
educational reform efforts necessary for twenty-first century
society, while they produce fundamental changes in key aspects of
the nature of knowledge and the way students access it. A great
amount of research has shown that ICT can lead to significant
educational and pedagogical outcomes in the schools and bring
major benefits to both learners and teachers (see for example
Jonassen, 2000; Webb, 2005):

* new educational materials and shared learning environments;

* increased motivation for learning;
* creative thinking and deepen understanding;
* active and collaborative learning;
* autonomous and lifelong learning.

Even though educational policy directives have articulated clear and

unambiguous statements about encouraging the use of ICT in
schools, the application of ICT in educational settings is rather
peripheral acting, in most cases, as an ‘add on’ effect to regular
classroom work (Jimoyiannis, 2007). Teachers, in general, agree that
computers constitute a valuable tool and are positive about
students’ development in ICT knowledge and skills (Jimoyiannis and
Komis, 2006). Even though they recognize the importance of
introducing ICT in education, teachers tend to be less positive about
their extensive use in the classroom and far less convinced about
their potential to improve instruction (Russel et al., 2003). It
appears that teachers’ pedagogical cultures shape their
representations of ICT use in the classroom (Ruthven, Hennessy,
and Brindley, 2004), while they are likely to adopt practices with
computers that reflect their beliefs about teaching and learning
(Drenoyianni and Selwood, 1998).

Despite ICT resources in the schools having been improved

substantially over the last few years, teachers do not appear to
make effective use of ICT in their instruction (Becta, 2004; Cuban,
2001; Russel et al., 2003; Waite, 2004). On the other hand,
individual attitudes and skill levels still remain an obstacle for the
teachers to adopt ICT and make effective use of ICT in their
instruction (Becta, 2004).

Nowadays, efficient ICT applications are available for science

education, for example spreadsheets and databases, simulations
and modeling tools, microcomputer based laboratories (MBL) and so
forth, offering open learning environments that provide students
with opportunities to (Jimoyiannis and Komis, 2001):

* access, visualize and investigate dynamic phenomena and

situations which are, otherwise, difficult to experience in a
classroom or lab setting, because they are extremely complex,
difficult, dangerous, unethical, money- or time-consuming, happen
too fast or very slowly, and so forth;

* support a qualitative understanding of complex systems of the

real world;

* develop students’ conceptual understanding about phenomena

and laws through an active process of making hypotheses, testing
ideas, isolating and manipulating parameters, interpreting data and,
finally, achieving meaningful understanding;
* express their own representations and mental models about
concepts and real world phenomena through employing a variety of
representations.

ICT integration in science education is not aiming at a simple

improvement of the traditional instruction. Rather it is associated
with fundamental changes in the learning process while the
teaching profession is evolving from an emphasis on teacher-
centred instruction to student-centred learning environments
(Webb and Cox, 2004). Many researchers have advocated the
educational potential of ICT-based learning environments in science
education, arguing that they provide opportunities for active
learning (de Jong and Joolingen, 1998; Jonassen et al., 2003), enable
students to perform at higher cognitive levels (Webb and Cox,
2004), and promote scientific inquiry (de Jong and Joolingen, 1998)
and conceptual change (Jimoyiannis and Komis, 2001; Tao and
Gunstone, 1999). By using simulations, for instance, students may
vary a selection of input parameters, observe the extent to which
each individual parameter affects the system under study, and
interpret the output results through an active process of hypothesis
making and ideas testing. Alternatively, they can explore
combinations of parameters and observe their effect on the
evolvement of the natural system under study.

Despite the potential benefits being identified, it is also clear that

routine implementation of ICT-based practical work in secondary
science teaching is problematic (Newton, 2000). In his study
examining physics teachers’ beliefs and attitudes, Zacharia (2003)
revealed that teachers believed that interactive computer
simulations and laboratory inquiry-based experiments had
numerous advantages to offer in physics education. However, they
designated the combination of computer simulations and inquiry-
based experiments as the most effective tool to be used within a
learning environment. A recent investigation of science teachers’
views has reported an outline of how the subject culture of
secondary school science, characterized by a content-laden
curriculum and students’ assessment, is challenged by the use of
ICT (Baggott la
Velle et al., 2007).

Science teachers’ attitudes and beliefs towards ICT in education

have a significant influence on ICT adoption and their
implementation behaviours in the classroom. Previous research
findings have shown that the functionality of ICT in the class has
been quite different for teachers of different subjects (Becker, 2001;
Jimoyiannis and Komis, 2007). Therefore, a thorough analysis of
their conceptions towards ICT in education can provide insights on
the prerequisites for teachers’ successful preparation, in order to
effectively apply ICT in their classroom.
There are three main objectives justifying the value of this study
regarding ICT in science education:

* Science teachers were more competent on ICT and particularly

positive about the educational benefits of ICT compared to their
colleagues of other subjects (Hennessy, Ruthven, and Brindley,
2005; Jimoyiannis and Komis, 2007). Considering that teachers’
educational beliefs are influenced by a wide range of factors, it is
reasonable to expect that investigating teachers with positive
perceptions towards ICT in education will help extract valuable
information about the integration of ICT in school practice.

* ICT provides a wide range of affordances in science education by

facilitating constructivist learning activities, supporting different
types of learners, enabling students to perform at higher cognitive
levels and promoting conceptual change. The affordances offered in
science education by most ICT applications can be incorporated into
the existing curriculum with very little change in teachers’
pedagogical practices (Webb and Cox, 2004).

* ICT have radically changed the problem solving formulas and

methods currently used in the fields of science research and science
applications (physics, biology, chemistry, environmental studies,
and so forth). It is of great interest to investigate why the infusion of
ICT in science education is, quantitatively and qualitatively, limited.

The study

Objectives and research questions

Over the last decades, physics education in Greek secondary

schools 1 was conceived by both teachers and students, as a
process of: (a) information transfer with teachers being at the
center while students have a passive role, (b) encouraging
memorization rather than active knowledge construction, and (c)
covering the curriculum content and preparing students for their
assessment exams (Jimoyiannis and Komis, 2003). In 1998,
fundamental curricular changes were announced, in the framework
of an ambitious educational reform in secondary education (CUF,
1998), mainly concerning the learning objectives, the educational
media and the instructional approaches. The new physics curriculum
aimed at promoting students active engagement, inquiring and
thinking about scientific concepts and phenomena of the natural
world.

Students’ experimentation in the physics laboratory and their

engagement with ICT-based learning activities were proposed as the
key issues to promote substantial changes in physics education.
During recent years, a considerable infrastructure development has
been established in Greek secondary schools, for example fully
equipped science laboratories, MBL systems, computer labs
connected to the Internet, and educational software development or
adaptation of well established titles from the international literature
into Greek, for example Interactive Physics, Modellus, Cabri and so
forth (Odysseia, 2000).

In the framework of the Information Society initiative (Information

Society, 2003), the Greek Ministry of Education and the European
Commission have also funded a large-scale project about Teachers’
Training on ICT in Education (TTICTE). The whole course, lasting 48
hours in total, was aimed at teachers acquiring basic ICT knowledge
and skills towards the application of ICT in education. The first
phase of this programme, costing €240 million overall, took place
during 2002–2003 and approximately 84,000 primary and
secondary education teachers participated (Jimoyiannis and Komis,
2007).

Through the initiatives above it is reasonable to expect that many

more physics teachers than before will be willing to explore the
affordances that contemporary instructional approaches offer, and
that their confidence in applying novel tools (for example MBL and
ICT) will be enhanced. In Greece, science teachers’ beliefs and
attitudes about subject education constitute an understudied field. It
is also expected that the findings of this survey could extend
previous research concerning secondary teachers’ beliefs about
physics education and be of interest in an international context.

Moreover, there are two main purposes justifying this study:

* As eight years have passed since the establishment of the

curricular reform (CUF, 1998), we considered that it is a pertinent
time period to investigate the influence on teachers’ pedagogical
philosophies, for example to what extent have physics teachers
adopted student-centered approaches and novel (laboratory and
ICT-based) learning activities in their everyday practice?

* The possible outcomes could be of particular educational value to

the educational policy authorities and the educational community
also, helping: (a) to evaluate the impact of the changes in
secondary education physics curriculum; and (b) to suggest future
initiatives, aimed at physics teachers’ professional development and
continuous support, to apply new instruction strategies in their
classroom practice.

Based upon the literature review discussed previously, the major

research questions in this study include:
(1) What are the physics teachers’ current beliefs and perspectives
about how students understand and learn physics?

(2) What are the teachers’ beliefs about laboratory and ICT-based
learning activities aimed at students’ active engagement? What
factors may influence those beliefs?

(3) What are the differences in teachers’ beliefs and ideas across
their attributes, such as gender, age, teaching experience, ICT
experience, type of school and so forth?

The procedure

The survey presented was administered to the public secondary

education schools in the urban area of Ioannina, a city of 150,000
inhabitants in northwest Greece. No intervention took place before
the survey. Teachers were asked to respond to the questionnaire as
honestly as they could and assured that there was no right or wrong
answer. The researcher’s role was restricted to answering teachers’
questions in order to clarify the items under research.

The instrument

The instrument was a written questionnaire containing 38 research

items in total. The design of the questionnaire was based upon the
theoretical knowledge already known from the literature, and the
practical knowledge of the research experience of the researchers.
Thirty-three Likert-type items presented statements of beliefs
toward physics education. A 5-point scale anchored by ‘strongly
agree’ and ‘strongly disagree’ was used. There were six dimensions
represented in the scale, aimed at teachers’ beliefs about:

* How students understand physics.

* The role of the physics laboratory in physics teaching and learning.

* The impact of ICT in physics education.

* The role of the physics teacher.

* Physics curriculum, educational media and instruction methods

currently used in secondary education.

* Science education research and its value for physics instruction in

school practice.
In this paper the findings concerning the first three dimensions are
presented.

Moreover, the instrument included four open-ended questions and a

section where teachers could present their ideas and proposals
concerning organization and management issues about physics
instruction in Greek secondary schools. Demographic information
such as gender, age, service experience, training, ICT competence
and so on, was also requested.

Discussions with two experts in educational research were

employed to ascertain face instrument validity (Nunnally, 1978). We
used their comments and suggestions to ensure: (a) that the
questionnaire was consistent with and relevant to the research
context and provides adequate coverage of the subject under study;
and (b) the appropriateness and readability of the instrument.
Moreover, a trial run was carried out in five secondary schools in
order to receive feedback and ensure that all questions included
were clearly understood. The trial group consisted of five physics
teachers not included in the sample.

The sample

A total of 53 physics teachers (41 males and 12 females)

participated in the survey representing approximately 50% of the
physics teachers teaching in public secondary schools in the area.
All the teachers in the sample had a physics degree from the
university. Two of them reported a PhD degree while five
participants had a Master degree in physics.

According to their teaching experience, five different groups of

teachers were established as following: TE1 (1–5 years), TE2 (6–10
years), TE3 (11–15 years), TE4 (16–20 years), and TE5 (21–25
years). Moreover, four categories of teachers were established
according to their age:

Age1 (up to 45 years), Age2 (46–50 years), Age3 (51–55 years) and
Age4 (more than 56 years).

We have also discriminated three groups of teachers according to

the type of school they work in: Gymn (teachers in lower secondary
schools), Lyc (teachers in upper secondary schools) and Lyc_Gymn
(teachers who teach simultaneously in both schools).

All the secondary schools represented in this survey had at least

one computer laboratory.

Approximately six out of 10 teachers in the sample reported that

their school had a fully equipped science laboratory.
Physics teachers professional development

In Greece, to become a physics teacher in secondary schools one

needs just a physics degree from the university. Teachers’
pedagogical preparation and their professional development are
provided by in-service training programs mainly funded by national
and EU initiatives. In most cases, the physics teachers were
provided with short-term training programmes or independent
seminar courses which were not integrated into a well-designed
teacher development perspective.

The teachers in the sample had attended, at a percentage of 83%,

various types of in-service training programs about science
education. These programs were carried out by the Teacher Training
Institute of Ioannina and the University of Ioannina, and were
focused on subjects such as the National Curriculum, the new
physics textbooks, experimental instruction in physics, science
education and ICT, and pedagogy. Six out of 10 teachers in the
sample believed that the training they had attended did not help
them considerably to improve their instruction job.

However, the teachers were positive about the effect that the
training programs they attended had on their instruction, at a
percentage of 18%.

The teachers’ ICT use profile

The great majority of the teachers in the sample (81%) had a

personal computer at home, while 66% had attended ICT training
programs, mainly about using general-purpose software. In most
cases they had participated in the TTICTE national project aimed at
teachers acquiring basic knowledge and skills towards ICT in
education. We have distinguished five different groups of teachers,
according to their engagement in ICT:

PC exp1: They had no computer experience while they were

unwilling to get involved in ICT (3.8%).

PC exp2: They had no computer experience while they were willing

to learn the basics (17.0%).

PC exp3: They used ICT mainly for personal purposes (18.9%).

PC exp4: They used computers to support their traditional

instruction, that is constructing lesson plans, worksheets or
assessment tests, processing and registering grades, or getting
information from the Internet (37.7%).
PC exp5: They used computers routinely to support their traditional
instruction, while they have used ICT tools (mainly simulations) as a
learning tool incorporated into their traditional instruction methods
(22.6%).

The method of analysis

Data analysis was performed at two distinct levels. The first was
based on the descriptive statistics of the results while the second
level consisted of the multivariate analysis of the input data using
the method of Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) (Benzécri,
1992; Greenacre, 1993) employed by SPAD software (SPAD, 2008).
This method, also known as Homogeneity Analysis or Dual Scaling,
is supported by the majority of the popular statistical packages
(forexample, SPSS). MCA has been effectively applied for the
interpretation of research data gathered through educational, social
or medical surveys (Jimoyiannis and Komis, 2003, 2007; Rialle and
Danel, 2003; van der Heijden, Teunisson, and van Orlé, 1997).

The main principle of the MCA method is that complex multivariate

data can be accessible by displaying their regularities and patterns
in graphs and diagrams. Using this type of multivariate analysis, one
can derive a global view of the data and interpret the alternative
approaches which teachers exhibited across the questionnaire, thus
revealing the various correlations according to their personal
characteristics (for example gender, age, teaching experience and
ICT competence).

Moreover, MCA yields a scatter plot (correspondence map) of the

results in a twodimensional space which emerges from the first two
factors of the analysis. The correspondence map constitutes a
comprehensive graphical display of the teachers in relation to their
responses to the questionnaire and also their attributes (Jimoyiannis
and Komis, 2007). In MCA the values of the responses that teachers
gave to the items in the questionnaire Qi=j (i is the item number
and j=1–5, where 1 corresponds to ‘strongly agree’ while 5
corresponds to ‘strongly disagree’) were used as dependent
variables. Six items have been used as independent variables,
namely gender, age, teaching experience, school type, computer
experience and in-service training about science education.

Results

How students understand physics

The first research dimension aims at the investigation of teachers’

beliefs about how students understand and learn physics. There
were four items representing this dimension in the questionnaire
(Table 1). The majority of the teachers in the sample follow the
traditional approach about physics instruction in secondary schools.
They perceive two issues to be of importance: (a) students need to
intensively read their physics textbooks and to practice solving
conventional (paper and pencil) problems; and (b) the physics
laboratory is a complementary tool and cannot actually facilitate
students’ understanding.

The first two factors of the multivariate analysis give 32.12% of the
total information produced. They have 1=0.5098, τ1 =18.54% and
λ2=0.3734,τ2=13.58% respectively. The first MCA factor (horizontal
axis) shows the opposition between traditional and non-traditional
approaches regarding how students learn physics. The second
factor (vertical axis) juxtaposes the teachers who consider the role
of solving conventional (paper and pencil) problems to be very
important, with those who consider to be very important the role of
textbooks in students understanding of physics.
Figure 1 shows the correspondence map in the space defined by the
first two axes (variance factors). One can distinguish three
discernible groups of teachers defined by the values projected on
the variance plane. The first group (N1) is determined by the values
corresponding to the teachers who have absolutely traditional
beliefs about how students understand and learn physics
(values E38=1, E39=1, E40=1, E41=1). Their perceptions are
focused on conventional paper/pencil problem solving and textbook
studying, while they consider that the physics laboratory cannot
help students’ understanding in physics. The teachers with medium
and high teaching experience (TE3, TE5) are projected mainly near
N1, as are their counterparts who have no computer experience but
are willing to receive training about ICT (PC exp2), the teachers who
attended no training about science education, those teaching at
gymnasium level and the older teachers (Age3, Age 4).

The second group (N2) is determined by the values corresponding

to the teachers having non traditional beliefs about how students
understand and learn physics (values E39=2, E39=3, E40=4,
E40=5, E41=4). In this group are also the lyceum teachers. Near
group N2 are projected mainly the teachers who consider that
students should be practising solving conventional problems; as well
as the male teachers, the teachers with very low teaching
experience (TE1) and staff in the middle of their educational career
(TE4), the teachers who used computers frequently (PC exp3, PC
exp4), the teachers who attended training about science education,
and the teachers between 46–50 years old (Age2).

Group (N3) comprises the teachers with non-traditional beliefs about

physics understanding and learning (values E38=4, E39=4, E40=2,
E41=5) while they perceive the role of the physics textbooks in
students’ understanding to be of great importance. Near N3 are
mainly projected the females, the teachers who are unwilling to use
ICT (PC exp1) and those who have used ICT as a learning tool (PC
exp5), those with low teaching experience (TE2), and the younger
teachers (Age1).

The main conclusion extracted from the correspondence map

(Figure 1) is that there is a strong correlation between the values of
the variables determining the three groups of teachers.

This indicates that the network of teachers’ beliefs is strongly

cohesive within every group (Gouttman effect). In other words, the
teachers’ beliefs are consistently similar along the items of this
dimension (how students understand and learn physics), that is the
teachers responded more or less in the same way (positively,
negatively or neutrally) to the items given in Table 1.
The teachers’ beliefs about the role of the physics laboratory

The second research dimension concerns the investigation of

teachers’ beliefs about the role ofthe school laboratory in physics
teaching and learning. There were six items in the questionnaire
representing this axis (Table 2).

The majority of the teachers were influenced by two factors, as far

as the adoption of the physics laboratory in everyday practice, it
concerns: (a) the pedagogical difficulties and the extra time needed
for the teacher to prepare the students’ experimentation activities;
and (b) the physics laboratory cannot help students to succeed in
the evaluation exams.

The first two factors of the multivariate analysis give 26.00% of the
total information produced by MCA. They have λ1 = 0.4251,
τ1=14.17% and λ2 = 0.3549,τ2 = 11.83% respectively.

The first variance factor corresponds to the positive–negative beliefs

axis. This axis shows the contradiction between strongly negative
and positive teachers as far as the items concerning the role of the
physics laboratory. The second factor is characterized as the
negative–neutral beliefs axis, since it juxtaposes teachers with
neutral beliefs to those who responded negatively to the various
items.

The correspondence map in Figure 2 shows that the teachers in the

sample are explicitly grouped around three poles according to their
responses. The first group (N1) is determined by the values
corresponding to the teachers who are strongly negative about
using the physics laboratory in their instruction (values E43=1,
E44=1, E45=1, E45=3, E47=1). Into this group, there are also the
physics teachers teaching in gymnasium. Near N1 the low
experienced teachers (TE1) are mainly placed, the teachers who are
unwilling to use ICT (PC exp1) and the staff who use computers for
personal purposes (PC exp3), as well as the teachers between 51–55
years old (Age3). Also placed are the teachers who are unsure about
the role of presentation experiments in physics instruction.

Figure 2. Correspondence map of teachers’ beliefs about the role of

the physics laboratory.

The second group (N2) is determined by the values corresponding

to the physics teachers with positive beliefs about the role of the
laboratory in physics instruction (values E42=5, E43=5, E43=4,
E44=5, E45=4). The teachers teaching at lyceum level are also
placed into this group. Near N2 are projected mainly those teachers
who do not perceive managing students’ activities in the physics lab
as a difficult issue (E47=5), the females, the teachers who attended
no training, those who have used ICT as learning tool (PC exp5), the
teachers who had teaching experience of between 6–10 and 21–25
years (TE2, TE5), and the younger teachers (Age1).

The third group (N3) comprises unsure teachers who are not
principally negative about the role of the physics lab, while it seems
that the issues concerning their own preparation and class
management prevent them from being positive (values E42=4,
E43=2, E44=2, E44=4, E47=2).

There are also in this group the males and the 46–50 year old
teachers (Age2). Near group N3 are placed the teachers who believe
that the physics lab confuses students (E42=2), the teachers in the
middle of their career (TE3, TE4), those who have used computers
to support their traditional instruction (PC exp4), the teachers willing
to learn the basics about ICT (PC exp2) and theolder teachers
(Age4).

The correspondence map in Figure 2 reveals a strong correlation

between the values of the variables determining the three groups of
teachers. This indicates that the network of teachers’ beliefs is
strongly cohesive within every group, in other words, the teachers’
beliefs are consistently similar along the items of this research
dimension.

ICT in physics instruction

The third research dimension concerns teachers’ beliefs about ICT in

physics instruction. The great majority of the teachers were positive
about the items in this dimension (Table 3). We have identified
three interfering factors that prevent teachers from using ICT tools
in everyday instructional practice:

* Pedagogical and instructional difficulties teachers faced (for

example designing students’ learning activities and managing
students’ work with ICT).

* The teachers were not convinced about the potential of ICT to

enhance students’ understanding and learning in physics.

* Computer lab is not free when physics teachers want to use it (in
most Greek secondary schools there is only one computer
laboratory with 10–12 PCs, which is principally used for the needs of
the computer science lessons).

One out of five teachers in the sample was aware of various

educational software titles pertinent for his/her subject matter.
Simulation tools, such as Interactive Physics, Modellus and
Crocodile, were the most popular software amongst teachers. It
seems that simulations have also been recognized by the physics
teachers in the sample as effective learning tools, supporting the
arguments
of Webb and Cox (2004).

The first two factors of the multivariate analysis have λ1= 0.5101,
τ1=13.42% andλ2=0.3949, τ2=10.39% respectively, giving
consequently 23.81% of the total information produced. The first
MCA dimension (axis) differentiates between the strongly positive
teachers and those who are neutral about the items concerning ICT
in physics education. The second axis juxtaposes teachers with
negative beliefs with the teachers who are neutral about ICT in
physics education.
Figure 3 shows the correspondence map in the space defined by the
first two variance dimension. We divided the teachers into three
discernible groups defined by the values projected on the variance
plane. The first group (N1) is determined by the values
corresponding to the teachers who have strongly positive beliefs
about ICT in physics education (values E51=5, E52=5, E54=5,
E56=5, E55=2). In this group there are also the teachers who used
ICT as a learning tool (PC exp5). It appears that this group is
internally cohesive, since the teachers are strongly positive towards
the items in this research axis. Near N1 are mainly placed the
lyceum physics teachers, those who use computers to support their
traditional instruction (PC exp4) and the teachers who are 46–50
years old (Age2). Also placed are the teachers who disagree that
using ICT in physics instruction confuses rather than helps students
(E52=4), and that computer lab disposal prevents them from using
ICT in their instruction (E55=5).
The second group (N2) is determined by the values corresponding
to the physics teachers having neutral beliefs about using ICT in
their subject instruction (values E51=3, E52=3, E54=3, E55=3).
Also located in N2 are the teachers who stated negatively in
question E54 (value E54=4) and the teachers who are unwilling to
use ICT (PC exp1). Near group N2 are projected mainly the males,
the teachers who attended no training about science education, the
teachers who have low (TE1) and medium (TE3) teaching
experience, and the younger teachers (Age1).

The third group comprises teachers with negative beliefs about ICT
in physics education (values E51=2, E52=2, E54=2, E56=1). Into
N3 are placed the teachers who are willing to learn the basics about
ICT (PC exp2). Near group N2 are mainly placed the females, the
teachers who use computers for personal purposes (PC exp3), the
teachers teaching at gymnasium level, staff who attended in-service
training programs about science education, those with 6–10 and 16–
25 years of teaching experience (TE2, TE4, TE5) and the older
teachers (Age3, Age4). Also projected are the teachers who lack the
knowledge to organize students learning tasks in the computer
laboratory (E56=2).

Summary and implications

This study provided information about physics teachers’ beliefs and

concerns regarding the potential of innovations suggested by the
new science curriculum in Greek secondary schools, namely
laboratory and ICT-based learning activities. Consistent with
previous research on science teachers educational beliefs (Baggott
la Velle et al., 2007; Munby, Cunningham, and Lock, 2000; Tobin,
McRobbie, and Anderson, 1997; Van Driel, Beijaard, and Verloop,
2001; Wallace and Kang, 2004), this study demonstrates that two
major belief sets, within teachers’ practical knowledge and school
culture context, are prevalent in shaping their views of effective
learning in physics:

* The need for covering the physics content in the mandated

curriculum and preparing the students for their examinations.

*The educational difficulties teachers face in applying novel

instruction approaches in classroom practice (for example to
prepare, organize and manage students learning tasks based on
laboratory inquiry and ICT learning environments).

In Greek secondary schools, especially at the lyceum level, there is

also another intervening factor which strongly influences the views
held by physics teachers: The ‘pressure’ from the national university
entrance exams prevails in their instruction culture as well as in the
students’ learning culture, inducing an imperative need to cover the
content knowledge in a way that strictly reflects how this knowledge
is presented in the textbooks and how it is assessed in the final
examinations.

The most important findings emerging from the multivariate

analysis is that the physics teachers in the sample have exhibited a
consistent network of beliefs about science education throughout
the questionnaire. On the basis of MCA analysis, three distinct belief
structures (clusters of beliefs) were found shaping three groups of
teachers with a different educational profile:

* A group of traditional teachers, whose beliefs and perceptions are

dominated by rigorous presentation of physics content knowledge
based on the textbooks and by conventional paper-pencil problem
solving, while they are unwilling to incorporate laboratory
instruction and ICT-based activities in their classroom practice.

* A second one consisted of non-traditional teachers, whose general

educational beliefs could be interpreted in terms of student-
centered orientation, while they are positive about the adoption of
laboratory and ICT-based instruction in physics.

* A third group of undecided teachers who combine elements of

both competing belief structures and vacillate between traditional
and non-traditional approaches in physics education, and the role of
laboratory and ICT-based instruction as well.

The analysis presented here adds considerably to the knowledge of

the factors which shape physics teachers’ belief structures. MCA has
revealed that personal attributes of the teachers such as teaching
experience, age, school type and ICT competence play a significant
role and influence their beliefs towards laboratory instruction and
ICT in physics education. It appears that the younger teachers,
those teaching at the lyceum level and their fellows who use ICT in
their instruction are more willing to adopt innovative, student-
centered approaches in their instruction.
There is no doubt that the integration of innovative approaches in
science classroom practice is a complex and multi-faceted issue.
Structural and curricular changes by themselves are not enough to
promote educational change among science teachers and lead to
improved teaching and learning conditions in the classroom.
Teachers’ educational judgments and decisions are influenced by
their conceptions about knowledge and learning, and the attitudes
and personal priorities they have. Consequently, the role of the
science teacher and, in particular, their educational beliefs, must
not be ignored if policy recommendations aim at an enduring
change in science education.

Educational reform success rests mainly on how well teachers come

to understand and internalize the many aspects of the proposed
pedagogical changes, (for example constructivist and learning-
centered strategies, collaborative learning, conceptual
understanding, development of high-order skills, authentic learning
tasks, and so forth). Teachers should not use innovations as an
extra or supportive event in their traditional instruction but they
should be able to reorganize their instruction in order to implement
the objectives of a contemporary curriculum.

Policy directives set forth the national goal of educational reforms

but the accompanying difficult tasks of revising curriculum,
changing instruction philosophy and practices, and adapting new
methods of assessment fall upon the teachers themselves.
Professional development programs should afford science teachers
with opportunities to identify their beliefs, to reflect on the current
status of the responsiveness of their school environment, and to
create a dialogue with local school and subject community members
about these issues (Lumpe, Haney, and Czerniak, 2000).

Well-trained and motivated teachers can improve the learning

conditions offered to their students. Effective programs aimed at
teachers’ preparation and support should be flexible, continuous,
and take account of their different perspectives and their
professional development targets as well. Further research is
needed on several aspects of students’ performance related to
laboratory or ICT-based learning activities designed by their
teachers. Our future research objectives will be addressed to the
investigation of non-traditional science teachers’ effort to
implement student-centered learning activities in school practice.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr Samuel Cohen for the helpful

discussions and the ideas shared. They also wish to thank Dr
Vassilis Komis for his help in MCA analysis.

Notes

1. In the Greek educational system there are two types of secondary

schools: (a) Gymnasium, providing lower secondary education (3
grades in total); and (b) Lyceum, providing upper secondary
education (3 grades in total).

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