Pedagogical Ethos: How Beliefs and Attitudes Shape Instruction

Teachers play an important role in shaping student outcomes in computing education, yet less attention has been paid to understanding how educators' underlying beliefs and values shape their instructional practices, particularly among underrepresented teachers who bring unique assets to computing education. This study situates the concept of pedagogical ethos in the context of computing education to understand the beliefs of educators and the ways they act on those beliefs through their teaching practices. In our case study of three educators in a professional development (PD) program, we analyze interview data to understand their beliefs about their pedagogical values and attitudes which we operationalize as observable practices. Findings reveal that participants' pedagogical ethos comprises three core dimensions: a) educators support increasing student access to computing education; b) the centering of students' experiences within educators' pedagogical practice; and c) how educators advocate on behalf of students and communities. We propose that these ethos can be used for designing culturally sustaining PD that recognizes the value of educators' beliefs and translating them into practices.