Carmen de los Ángeles Perdomo-López
David Pérez-Jorge
Miriam Catalina González-Afonso- 1Department of Specific Didactics, University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
- 2Department of Didactics and Educational Research, University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
The initial teacher training and the beliefs about their role in the classroom that prospective teachers acquire throughout their training significantly impact the construction of their teaching identity and influence their professional practice. Understanding these beliefs is crucial, as they act as filters that shape how future teachers interpret teaching-related information. This study focuses on analyzing the beliefs of future secondary education teachers, specifically students enrolled in the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training at the University of La Laguna (ULL). A mixed methodology was used. Quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire on beliefs about teacher training in secondary education. This questionnaire was administered to 207 students at the beginning and end of the 2022–2023 academic year. Qualitative data were obtained from a focus group with participation from study subjects. The findings indicate that there are no significant differences in beliefs regarding disciplinary knowledge, a practical training model, and teaching vocation after completing initial training. These results suggest that certain core beliefs about teaching remain stable throughout the initial teacher training process, highlighting the need to reflect on how teacher education programs can more effectively influence the belief systems of future educators.
1 Introduction
Numerous authors highlight the fundamental role played by solid initial teacher training in improving educational quality (Álvarez-Medina and Sánchez-Heredia, 2022; Imbernón, 2007, 2019; Hargreaves, 2009; Serrano Rodríguez and Pontes Pedrajas, 2015). Educational quality, defined as the extent to which the school, through relevant and effective processes, promotes the cognitive, social, and emotional development of students (UNESCO, 2005; Scheerens, 2011). The quality of teaching is the interschool factor with the greatest impact on student achievement and is measured through indicators such as progress on standardized tests and graduation rates (Barber and Mourshed, 2007; OECD, 2018).
In this line, the Report prepared by the International Commission on the Futures of Education (Arévalo, 2022) highlights that “teachers are key figures on which the possibilities of transformation rest” (p. 84). Therefore, it is crucial to rethink and improve the initial and in-service training of teachers, regardless of territorial, educational or social scope (Asterhan and Lefstein, 2023; Pérez-Jorge et al., 2022). Immediate action is needed to ensure the best possible education for our students.
In this sense, initial training should begin by defining professional identity. Any teacher’s ideas and beliefs about their role in the classroom directly impact the quality of their teaching and, therefore, student achievement (Hattie, 2003; Popper-Giveon and Shayshon, 2016; Stenberg et al., 2014). In addition, identifying the assessments, expectations, and concerns aspiring teachers have about training allows for the improvement of the formative process and lays the foundation for a solid professional identity. The beliefs that teachers hold and the effect of their self-revelations on the teaching-learning process (Peña Froment et al., 2021) significantly influence their job development and level of commitment (Moses et al., 2017). Although this study does not evaluate classroom practice, understanding these initial beliefs is essential to guide training actions that can influence practice, thus increasing the likelihood of effective teaching interventions in the future. For this reason, teachers must stop to reflect on their own beliefs, be willing to adjust them and constantly improve their educational practice, adapting it to their students’ individual needs and particularities. Both teachers’ initial training and the beliefs they acquire throughout their teaching-learning process significantly impact the construction of their teaching identity. Teacher identity integrates cognitive (beliefs), affective (passion/commitment), and social (sense of belonging) dimensions (Beijaard et al., 2004); and its robustness is associated with higher-quality classroom practices and better student outcomes (Day and Gu, 2007; Hattie, 2009). Therefore, trainers must keep in mind the influence they exert on future teachers, not only in terms of didactic content but also in their perception as professionals (Flores and Day, 2006; Salazar Noguera and McCluskey, 2017; Stenberg et al., 2014). This is, consequently, a critical stage in creating teachers who are passionate about teaching or, on the contrary, teachers who are unmotivated with their professional work (Hong, 2010; Cabrera and Córdoba, 2011). Teachers gradually build their professional identity (García-Rubio, 2022; Ostinelli and Crescentini, 2021). The starting point is the knowledge of specific content, the fundamental competencies for teaching, and the ability to use learning materials to guide students, all from a reflective practice (Martín-Romera and García-Martínez, 2018). Teaching involves combining disciplinary knowledge with the action of teaching, and this gives rise to professional knowledge.
Disciplinary knowledge needs the acquisition of didactic knowledge to bring it to educational practice; this interaction influences the teacher’s beliefs about their teaching practice (Rodríguez and Alamilla, 2018). In this regard, the importance that teachers attach to the mastery of specialized knowledge as one of the most relevant competencies within their professional profile is found in studies such as that of Ferrández Berrueco and Sánchez-Tarazaga (2014), whose most valued competency by the surveyed group was knowing how to transmit knowledge, or like that of Martín-Romera and Salmerón Vílchez (2023), in which the interviewed sample highlights the need to obtain pedagogical training, but integrated with disciplinary knowledge.
On the other hand, initial training should combine knowledge of disciplinary knowledge with the acquisition of didactic knowledge (Nickel and Crosby, 2021; Pérez-Jorge et al., 2021).
Training in teaching strategies and skills will make it possible to apply the contents acquired during the study of the specialty in practice. However, this situation is not expected since beginning teachers often express dissatisfaction with the training received due to its excessively theoretical nature and detachment from the practical reality of the profession (Martín-Romera and García-Martínez, 2018). Initial training programs should overcome the separate training of theoretical knowledge and practical experiences because this prevents the integration of didactic knowledge and distances future teachers from the real situations they will have to face in educational practice. In numerous studies, students in initial training demand a practical approach that provides them with didactic and methodological tools and skills for their future teaching practice (González Alfaya et al., 2019; Domínguez-Fernández and Prieto, 2019; Manso and Garrido-Martos, 2021; Poveda et al., 2021; Serrano Rodríguez and Pontes Pedrajas, 2015; Serrano Rodríguez et al., 2019).
On the other hand, a fundamental aspect in the construction of the professional identity of any teacher is their perception of the qualities that characterize a good educator. In this regard, when asked about the characteristics of the current good teacher, the study by Alonso-Sainz (2021) reveals that practicing teachers value personal competencies (patience, vocation, motivation.) more significantly than other competencies such as digital, didactic- pedagogical, emotional, social, linguistic or mathematical. In the same vein, the research by Delgado-García and Toscano Cruz (2021) points out three main factors that help to explain this process of building the professional identity of the future teacher: interest in teaching, personal qualities and the properties of initial training, understanding vocation as a critical element to face the secondary education stage, in itself “problematic.”
Considering the above, this paper aims to analyze teachers’ beliefs in initial training and how they might influence their future work as secondary school teachers. This study, therefore, focuses specifically on the students of the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training in Compulsory Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, Vocational Training and Language Teaching (from now on MFP) of the University of La Laguna (from now on ULL).
The following specific objectives were established:
(a) To assess how important pre-service teachers consider training in subject-area knowledge to be.
(b) To examine pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the relevance of training in the acquisition and development of teaching strategies and pedagogical skills.
(c) To identify the beliefs about the characteristics of good teachers.
2 Materials and methods
2.1 Sample
A convenience sample was taken from students enrolled in the MPF in the 2022/23 academic year who voluntarily wished to participate in the study. The sample consisted of 207 master’s degree students from all the specialities offered by the ULL (Table 1). The complete description of the curriculum is available in Supplementary Material 2.
Table 1. Distribution of participating students by degree and by gender.
All participants were enrolled in the first and only year of the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training, which includes both didactic coursework and a supervised teaching practicum in secondary education settings. The post-test was administered after the completion of these training components.
Based on the branch of knowledge through which they entered the master’s degree program, Figure 1 shows that most students came from undergraduate studies in the arts and humanities (39%) and social and legal sciences (28.8%).
Figure 1. Distribution of the sample by branches of knowledge.
Regarding the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample, 48.3% were aged up to 25 years, 43% were between 26 and 35 years, and only 8.7% were older than 35 years. The mean age of the sample was 23.6 years. About gender, the majority of the students identified themselves as female 58%, compared to 42% who identified as male.
A mixed methodology was used to conduct this study to compensate for the limitations inherent to the restriction of only one of the methodologies, thus strengthening the interpretation of the results (Creswell and Clark, 2017). On the one hand, we present quantitative results obtained from the administration of the Questionnaire of Beliefs about the Teaching Profession (CCPD) (Pérez Gracia, 2022) that measures beliefs about the initial training and professional teaching identity of secondary education teachers before training and after master’s studies. The qualitative data were obtained from a focus group conducted with MFP students. Table 2 shows the composition and structure.
Table 2. Selection of the students participating in the focus group.
The focus group was organized based on the specialities taught at the ULL; the 13 specialities were distributed (the speciality of Educational Guidance was excluded, as its training corresponds to a different professional profile) in 4 blocks organized into sciences, arts, vocational training and arts. The focus group consisted of six students. A purposeful maximum-variation sampling strategy was employed to compose the focus group. The final group comprised six participants, guaranteeing (a) at least one representative from each of the four knowledge blocks offered by the programme (Sciences, Humanities, Arts, and Vocational Training); (b) gender balance (three female, three male); and (c) an age range that reflected the cohort distribution (19–34 years). This composition was considered sufficient to generate discursive diversity while preserving interaction fluency (Krueger and Casey, 2015). The distribution is presented in Table 2.
2.2 Instruments and techniques
The CCPD questionnaire (Pérez Gracia, 2022) was composed of 14 Likert-type scale items with 4 levels of response that expressed the lowest or highest degree, according to the students, concerning the questionnaire’s statements. The fundamental aspects of the scale were centered on three dimensions: (1) mastery of specialized knowledge, (2) teaching strategies and skills, and (3) beliefs about the competence of a good teacher.
To contrast the results obtained with the questionnaire, a focus group was conducted, whose dimensions of analysis are identical to those of the questionnaire. Table 3 shows the categories for each dimension.
Table 3. Selection of the students participating in the focus group.
2.3 Procedure
The questionnaire was administered through a Google form at two points, at the beginning and end of the 2022–2023 academic year. Before its application, the objective of the study was explained. The focus group was held after the second questionnaire application was completed. The six students representing four domains were convened, and a discussion was held based on the questions for each study dimension. The focus group was recorded for later transcription and content analysis.
2.4 Data analysis
Quantitative data analysis was performed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Two tests were carried out: (a) exploratory descriptive analysis of the dimensions of the questionnaire and (b) analysis of intergroup differences. For this, the Kruskal–Wallis test was used to determine the differences between the dependent variables and the established factors and between factors. For the focus group data analysis, a content analysis was performed using the MAXQDA 2020 program, which allows analysis based on the categorization of discursive elements (Rädiker and Kuckartz, 2019). The responses were coded by assigning codes to the document segments to identify the content units for each dimension and category of analysis.
The Shapiro–Wilk test indicated non-normal distribution of the data for all variables (p < 0.05), justifying the use of the Kruskal–Wallis test. This non-parametric test was used to compare the pre- and post-test scores for each of the three dimensions. The test statistic (H), degrees of freedom (df), and p-values are reported in the results section.
3 Results
Table 4 shows the mean scores and standard deviations for each item and factor that comprise the questionnaire. The results reflect the values collected before the students received the training and after completing the master’s degree.
Table 4. Pre and post results of the CCPD questionnaire.
At a general level, it could be observed that after the training received in the master’s degree, there were no significant differences that could justify an improvement in relation to the items and the dimensions (factors) in which they were grouped. It can be noted that the beliefs, expectations and evaluations of the students (future teachers) regarding (1) mastery of specialized knowledge, (2) strategies and skills for teaching, and (3) beliefs about the competence of a good teacher remain unchanged.
The Kruskal–Wallis test revealed no statistically significant differences between pre- and post-test scores for any of the dimensions: Mastery of specialized knowledge (H = 0.000, df = 1, p = 1.000), Teaching strategies and skills (H = 0.000, df = 1, p = 1.000), and Beliefs about the competence of a good teacher (H = 0.000, df = 1, p = 1.000).
This could indicate that the training received in the master’s program has had a limited impact on the participants’ beliefs about teaching competencies.
The data obtained in the focus group show the following:
1. Beliefs about the importance of mastering specialized knowledge (two categories): Relevance of the mastery of the contents of the speciality: Future teachers are unanimous in highlighting the importance of mastering the contents of the speciality for the performance of the teaching function. Ten units of meaning relative to the critical factor of content mastery are identified:
“I think it is fundamental to have a solid command of the contents of the speciality to teach well.” (Physics and Chemistry Esp.)
“It is important to have a good grounding in the subject” (Esp. of Music).
1. Role played by knowledge of the speciality in teaching: Six units of meaning are identified where it is indicated that in-depth expertise in the subject has an impact on better educational practice:
“A thorough knowledge of the major gives you confidence when teaching.” (Sp. of Humanities)
“It allows you to be more creative and flexible in lesson planning.” (Language and Literature Sp-)
1. The importance of acquiring training in teaching strategies and skills (three categories):
2. Skills and strategies to be a good teacher: The future teachers agree that to be a good teacher, a series of skills and strategies must be brought together, fundamentally those related to effective communication, group management, planning, formative evaluation and the capacity to motivate students. Twelve units of meaning associated with this category were identified: “A good teacher must be able to motivate students and awaken their interest in learning.” (Sp. Humanities)
“Well, I think it is essential to know how to transmit the knowledge, what you are going to teach. To know how to transmit and order everything that is going to be taught” (Sp. of Mathematics).
Training model (of skills and strategies): The participants unanimously highlighted a practical training model. Six units of meaning were identified where it was pointed out that the experience obtained from practice is necessary to acquire the strategies and skills needed to be a good teacher:
“A good teacher comes with practice, with time” (Professional Module Teacher).
“No matter how much you read the theory, it is not until you put it into practice that you learn and see everything…” (Music teacher).
1. Importance of didactic training: Five units of meaning are identified, and the importance attributed to didactic training stands out, indicating that it is fundamental to perform teaching practice effectively.
“The master’s degree has made me aware of how many things to always keep in mind in a classroom.” (Eng. Music)
“.because in the end the master’s degree becomes a formality that you pay for and everyone passes it.” (Eng. Humanities)
1. Beliefs about whether a good teacher can be trained or is innate (three categories):
2. Nature of a good teacher: the perception of teachers in initial training as to whether the characteristics for being a good teacher are innate or acquired is analyzed. Nine units of meaning are identified where it is stated that it is possible to acquire the competencies to be a good teacher:
“I believe that, we//, you are not born, you learn. That’s why you spend many hours studying, to learn and to know how to manage yourself, and to know how to be a teacher, to be a good teacher.” (Eng. Music)
“No, I think you learn. In my case, I have found that it has been an enriching practical experience.” (Eng. Humanities)
However, three of the units of meaning qualify that there are people who possess these characteristics innately:
“In my opinion, you can improve your teaching skills with practice, but I think there are people who are born.” (Physics and Chemistry Esp.)
1. Development and teaching skills through training: When explicitly asked if it is possible to acquire the skills to be a good teacher, three units of meaning are identified, which indicate that they can be acquired, although it is more complex, and that there are people who possess them innately, relating them to having a vocation to be a teacher:
“Some people are born with an ability that cannot be achieved even with much practice.” (Physics and Chemistry).
“Everything can be learned except the intrinsic skills that we commented on of public speaking, public service.” (Eng. Mathematics).
1. Vocation and career choice: Five units of meaning are identified where the importance of having a vocation to be a good teacher is manifested, this being one of the factors that will determine professional performance in the future:
“I have always thought that it is by vocation because since I was little, it was always clear to me that what I wanted to do was just what I am trying to be today.” (Esp. Language and Literature)
“I was not born with a teaching vocation. I had learned, and over time, I did realize that it is a way to contribute to society.” (Sp. Humanities)
4 Discussion
Regarding the questionnaire dimension on beliefs about teaching competence and the corresponding research question about future teachers’ beliefs, it can be seen that there is no variation between the beliefs held before starting the master’s degree and those at the end of it. This finding is consistent with previous studies (Aarts et al., 2019; Asensio Muñoz and Ruiz de Miguel, 2017; Martín-Romera and Salmerón Vílchez, 2023). This result is predictable, given that in order for beliefs to evolve, conflicting processes must occur—typically generated during the transition from initial training to early professional experience in educational settings (Hong et al., 2017; Morales and Taborda, 2021; Sims and Fletcher-Wood, 2020).
In relation to the first objective and the questionnaire dimension focused on subject-matter knowledge, this study shows that pre-service teachers place great importance on mastering their subject area, considering it a key aspect of their teaching role (Borquez et al., 2023; Carrasco Aguilar and Figueroa, 2019). These future teachers understand that a deep mastery of subject content facilitates essential teaching tasks, such as selecting relevant content, designing appropriate teaching strategies, and planning assessment systems. Similar results were found by Martín-Romera and Salmerón Vílchez (2023), who observed that pre-service teachers consider disciplinary training essential and only begin to appreciate pedagogical training once they are exposed to practical experiences.
With respect to the second objective, as well as the questionnaire dimension related to teaching strategies and skills, the findings indicate that participants value pedagogical training, but believe it should be strongly linked to practice. This vision is related to the proposals formulated in other countries such as Germany, Finland or Canada (Donaire, 2020; Trobat, 2021), where training is complemented with “induction” (beginning teacher induction) (Martínez, 2020; Martínez and Marín, 2018); also called initiation, or immersion, to play the teaching role as a fundamental element to culminate the training process (Fenwick, 2011). This proposal allows new faculty to explore and question their pre-existing beliefs while being trained in practice.
The training of education professionals should not be limited to the practical application of what they have learned in their initial training. It should also involve building knowledge on the concrète situations offered by real classroom experience. This type of training will enable future teachers to be competent in their professional work to respond to the demands of society (Marcelo, 2010; Martínez et al., 2019).
Finally, in relation to the third objective and the questionnaire dimension on beliefs about the characteristics of good teachers, the data confirm that participants unanimously emphasized vocation as a fundamental quality, with it being the most frequently mentioned concept in the focus group. This result is consistent with other studies that analyzed the opinions of future primary and secondary teachers (Marchesi Ullastres and Díaz Fouz, 2007; Rodríguez-Gutiérrez et al., 2019; Ruohotie-Lyhty et al., 2024; Sánchez et al., 2021). Teaching activity is conceived as a profession with a vocation or a profession of values (Larrosa, 2010, Lau et al., 2022) that requires competencies, attitude, dedication and knowledge about ethical duties and rights.
5 Conclusion
In conclusion, it is essential to consider teachers’ beliefs in their initial and ongoing education. Identifying the beliefs and evaluations of teachers not only improves the training process but lays the foundation for a solid professional identity. This study has shown that the beliefs of future teachers about the mastery of specialized knowledge, teaching strategies and skills, and the competencies of a good teacher did not change significantly during the master’s program.
1. Importance of mastering specialized knowledge: Future teachers attribute great importance to mastering the content of their speciality, considering it an essential aspect of their teaching work. This mastery facilitates content selection, the design and appropriate choice of methodological strategies, and the evaluation system. These findings are consistent with previous studies highlighting the relevance of disciplinary knowledge in teacher training.
2. Acquisition and mastery of teaching strategies and skills: Participants value didactic training but emphasize that it should be linked to and developed through practice. This perspective aligns with proposals from other countries that complement theoretical training with induction programs, allowing new teachers to explore and question their pre-existing beliefs while being trained in practice.
3. Beliefs about the competencies of a good teacher: Vocation emerges as a fundamental element for being a good teacher, the most mentioned term in the focus groups. This finding is consistent with research analyzing the opinions of future teachers, highlighting that teaching is conceived as a vocational profession that requires competencies, attitudes, dedication, and knowledge of ethical duties and rights.
Overall, the results suggest that for there to be a modification in teachers’ beliefs, an evolutionary process that combines initial training with the first professional experiences in educational centers is required. The training of education professionals should not be limited to the practical application of what they have learned in their initial training. Still, it should involve building knowledge from real classroom situations. This training will enable future teachers to respond competently to society’s demands.
In light of these results, it is advisable to strengthen the master’s program by placing greater emphasis on the fundamental aspects of professional identity and its connection to teachers’ beliefs. While actual teaching practice is essential for changing beliefs, the small changes that occurred during the course suggest that experiences are not intentionally integrated into reflection and identity development. Strengthening this connection could contribute to improving the levels of personal and professional development of future teachers who enroll in the program.
Limitations of the study: One of the limitations of this study lies in the use of a single focus group, which may restrict thematic saturation. While the data collected provided valuable insights into the beliefs of pre-service teachers, relying on one group limits the depth and diversity of perspectives. This constraint has been acknowledged in the Limitations section. Future research is encouraged to incorporate multiple focus groups or individual interviews to enhance the validity and transferability of the findings.
Data availability statement
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
Ethics statement
Ethical approval was not required for the studies involving humans because this study was conducted within the Master’s Degree in Teacher Training, with the approval of the Academic Committee. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.
Author contributions
CP-L: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft. DP-J: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft. MG-A: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft.
Funding
The authors declare that no financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The authors declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.
Generative AI statement
The authors declare that no Generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript.
Publisher’s note
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Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1630045/full#supplementary-material
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Keywords: beliefs, educational quality, educational strategies, secondary teacher education, secondary school teachers, teaching skills
Citation: Perdomo-López CÁ, Pérez-Jorge D and González-Afonso MC (2025) Beliefs of pre-service teachers regarding future teaching practice. Front. Educ. 10:1630045. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1630045
Received: 16 May 2025; Accepted: 21 July 2025;
Published: 14 August 2025.
Edited by:
Marco Ferreira, Higher Institute of Education and Science (ISEC), PortugalReviewed by:
Luisa Araújo, Higher Institute of Education and Science (ISEC), PortugalIlse Schrittesser, University of Vienna, Austria
Copyright © 2025 Perdomo-López, Pérez-Jorge and González-Afonso. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Carmen de los Ángeles Perdomo-López, Y3BlcmRvbW9AdWxsLmVkdS5lcw==