The Beliefs of Primary School Teachers: A Comparative Analysis

Teachers are a fundamental factor of quality in the educational process. Their professional beliefs configure teaching behaviours and conduct. The aim of this research was to analyse the professional beliefs of primary education teachers in the city of Valencia and to carry out a comparison between these beliefs and the variables Gender, Age, Professional Experience, Type of school and If they have children. A mixed methodology was used: quantitative, qualitative and comparative. We applied the Questionnaire on Teaching Competencies of Primary Education teachers, prepared, ad hoc, following the theoretical Model of Planned Action. A total of 371 teachers participated in the study, from both state schools and concertado (sponsored by a public voucher system) schools. After applying the appropriate statistics, the following results were obtained. Teachers perceived themselves to have very positive beliefs about the teaching-learning process in general terms. Significant differences were found according to gender, age, professional experience and type of school. In conclusion, a high self-perception regarding professional beliefs was found in all the teachers analysed.