The Relationship Between Epistemology and Teaching Practice in the Professional Training of Educators in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

The relationship between epistemology and teaching practice is a decisive core of professional teacher education because ideas about what knowledge is, how it is justified, and who is entitled to produce it shape —often tacitly— content selection, pedagogical authority, assessment, and opportunities for student participation. This review analyzed evidence published from January 2021 to May 2026 concerning the articulation of epistemic beliefs, cognition, and practices with teaching practice in university-based initial and continuing teacher education. An integrative review was conducted using international academic sources, explicit eligibility criteria, and thematic synthesis. Four patterns emerged: (a) evaluativist, fallibilist, and plural epistemologies are associated with dialogic teaching, inquiry, and argumentation; (b) the belief–action relationship is mediated by disciplinary domain, identity, curriculum, assessment, and institutional conditions; (c) research experiences, dialogic reflection, practicum, and inquiry communities can foster epistemic development when they connect theory, evidence, and authentic decisions; and (d) a gap remains between constructivist discourse and transmissive routines. Epistemology should therefore not remain an isolated philosophical course but become a cross-curricular tool for justifying decisions, examining evidence, and transforming teaching.