Educational goal preferences among new and veteran teachers of sciences and humanities

Does teaching experience di!erentially shape the thinking of teachers of di!erent academic disciplines regarding schooling issues incidentally related to subject matter instruction? This question was addressed by examining the broad schooling goals established for students by novice and veteran teachers of `humanistica and `scienti"ca subjects. Participants were 44 Israeli female teachers of grades 7}9. Frequency and intensity of goal preferences were assessed in a semi-structured interview. Results demonstrated that: (1) novices and veterans expressed di!erent goal preferences, as did humanities versus science teachers; (2) experienced humanities teachers preferred academic goals less than other
teachers; and (3) the overall order of goal preference was academic'social'personal. The signi"cance of the interaction between teacher experience and discipline taught is discussed.