There are contrasting belief paradigms about the most effective teaching practices and how children learn best. The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s position statement on developmentally appropriate practices (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009) stresses the importance of child-initiated learning and positive teacher-child relationships. Involving children in curricular decisions and allowing them to share responsibility for their own learning is vital to ensure motivated, lifelong learners.
Child involvement in curricular decisions is central to the Project Approach. However, this can present a challenge for teachers. As Clark (2006) notes, the Project Approach has no scripts, suggested activities, or teacher’s manuals and the role of the teacher can feel uncertain for the novice. Several experiences with projects are necessary before teachers begin to have confidence in the children’s abilities to make significant decisions (Helm & Katz, 2011); as Doyle (1997) notes, changes in teachers’ beliefs may take three to five years. However, the decision was made to use the Teacher Belief Scale (Charlesworth, Hart, Burts, & Hernandez, 1990) in this study to see if pedagogical beliefs would change as teachers learned more about Project Approach practices when supported by weekly coaching in their classrooms. Measurements of teacher beliefs might provide insight into any changes in CLASS scores related to coaching.