Changeability of pre-service teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism: a person- and transition-centered approach

Teachers of all subjects and grades must remain aware of the linguistic and cultural diversity among their students, as second language learners often experience educational disadvantages. Therefore, (pre-service) teachers must acquire pedagogical language knowledge and skills in linguistically responsive teaching (LRT), and develop positive beliefs about multilingualism. To analyze the changeability of German pre-service teachers’ beliefs about multilingualism, our study combined a person- and transition-centered approach with a longitudinal design. Pre-service teachers (n = 312) from nine universities across Germany were surveyed before and after attending academic opportunities to learn (OTL) about LRT. We used a validated questionnaire to capture participants’ beliefs about (1) valuing family languages other than German, (2) feeling responsible for language teaching, and (3) valuing multilingualism in class. Our findings showed a significant positive change in beliefs between the pre-and post-tests. Latent transition analysis demonstrated differences among beliefs; therefore, we identified three profiles of pre-service teachers: the uninvolved criticals, the responsible controllers, and the consistent supporters. Moreover, we identified different transition patterns: the OTL changed the beliefs of half of the participants to enable them to move between profiles (especially the uninvolved criticals).