From Professing to Doing: Mathematical Values Practices of Mathematics Teachers

Abstract

There is a widespread belief that mathematics is the most value-free of all school subjects among stakeholders in mathematics education, especially teachers. However, some mathematics educators and researchers are convinced that mathematics is culture-embedded and, therefore, value-driven. This present study aimed at exploring senior high school (SHS) mathematics teachers’ teaching practices of mathematical values in a municipality in Ghana. In the quest to achieve the purpose of this study, we employed explanatory sequential mixed methods. In the quantitative study, a census was employed to include all 53 SHS mathematics teachers within the Tano South Municipality. For the qualitative phase, purposive sampling was used to select six SHS mathematics teachers recruited to complete the questionnaires in the quantitative phase to participate in interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed using both descriptive statistics (percentage, frequency, mean, and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (one-way between-groups analysis of variance [ANOVA]). The qualitative data also was analyzed using a thematic analysis. From the study’s findings, it was concluded that SHS mathematics teachers often practiced the mathematical values of objectism, control, progress, and openness. In contrast, other mathematical values, such as rationalism and mystery, were sometimes practiced. The mathematical values teaching practice among SHS mathematics teachers who teach at Basic 10, 11, and 12 were statistically significantly different. It is, therefore, recommended, among others, that teacher education institutions review their mathematics programs to promote values and valuing in mathematics education among pre-service mathematics teachers.