It is well known that teachers' beliefs influence their perceptions, decisions and actions, before, during and after their classes. Therefore, it is important for them to know their beliefs and to reflect about them, which may lead them to some changes in their practice, making professional development possible. In order to elicit these beliefs, it is necessary to use some data collection instruments and procedures which are effective and may promote teachers' reflection. This paper presents a research whose aim was to investigate which kinds of beliefs can be detected with different instruments and procedures, analyzing if they interfere in the way teachers reflect about their own beliefs, and if there is a possible combination of them to promote teachers' reflection. The theoretical reference was based on studies about teacher thinking, teachers' beliefs, and research methodology on beliefs. An interpretive-qualitative research with etnographical aspects was carried out, involving five English teachers of a language school in São Paulo state. For the data collection five research instruments and procedures were used: questionnaire, focal group, self-report, class observations and interview (with the technique stimulated recall). The results showed that it is possible to detect beliefs about learning and teaching with the selected instruments and procedures and that they interfere in the way teachers reflect about their beliefs. The results also showed the importance of using a combination of these instruments to promote a reflexive process.
English teachers' beliefs; research methodology on beliefs; reflective teacher education
