Chinese pre-service teachers' beliefs about hypothetical children's social withdrawal and aggression: Comparisons across years of teacher education

This study examined Chinese kindergarten pre-service teachers' beliefs about hypothetical children's problematic behaviors with peers. Pre-service teachers responded to depictions of children displaying social withdrawal (shyness and unsociability) and physical aggression (for comparison). Among the results, pre-service teachers perceived aggression as the most problematic behavior, followed by shyness and then unsociability. Results suggested that pre-service teachers in later years of the program were able to make fine-grained distinctions between subtypes of social withdrawal. Our research lends support to the notion that pre-service teachers' beliefs may be susceptible to change. Results are discussed in terms of pedagogical development and cultural context.