An Inquiry into the Epistemic Beliefs of Learning Support Teachers and Learning Advisors during COVID-19

An Inquiry into the Epistemic Beliefs of Learning Support Teachers and Learning Advisors during COVID-19

The current work from home scenario due to the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportune time to examine the epistemic beliefs (EB) of academic language and learning support specialists whose online services have increased in demand. Understanding the EB of these experts may provide insights into ways these may be integrated into professional learning activities to equip a workforce ready to engage with K-20 students having language and learning difficulties. This paper is based on an ongoing qualitative study seeking to illuminate the EB of Learning Support Teachers (LSTs) and Learning Advisors (LAs) given that EB have been reported to bear influence on the actions and roles of pre-service and practising classroom teachers.
This presentation focuses on the study's data collection instruments to examine EB as sources of knowledge and domain specific knowledge based on Chinn et al.'s (2011) model of epistemic cognition which expounded on the aims, sources and reliable processes of EB. The paper discusses the survey, interview and self-reflection protocol utilized with LSTs based in the Philippine K-12 system and LAs based in Australian universities. The development of these instruments employed the use of an epistemic structure to inform the data collection to address a gap in EB research
where arriving at reliable measures has been a constant challenge and psychometric problems in prior instruments have been found. As such, this paper argues for an alternate set of data gathering instruments which entail self-reporting and reflection on recorded individualized online sessions to analyze the sources of knowledge, epistemic aims, values and virtues of 'third-space' specialists or academic professionals engaged in personalized learning support and dialogic advising.