Mathematics Teacher Education Quality in TEDS-M: Globalizing the Views of Future Teachers and Teacher Educators

Abstract

The Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics, sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, is the first data-based study about mathematics teacher education with large-scale samples; this article is based on its data but develops a stand-alone conceptual framework to investigate the quality of teacher education among various countries. The framework includes five indicators: future teacher achievement, instructor effectiveness, coherence between universities and schools, courses/content arrangement, and overall effectiveness of teacher education programs. One of the findings provides indications that it is necessary to combine theoretical knowledge with practical teaching into teacher education; another finding is that for all countries involved, future teachers are less approving of the courses/content arrangement of teacher education programs than are program educators, thus perhaps lowering educators’ motivation to improve the arrangement. The data also indicate that there is a high degree of synchronization and organization in teacher education programs in the United States; however, these programs still require further development and promotion of their future teachers’ knowledge achievements.

The acquisition of pedagogical knowledge by future teachers from a comparative perspective: on the effectiveness of teacher education in Germany and Austria

“…Studierende, die über umfangreichere schulpraktische Erfahrungen in diesen Bereichen berichten, zeigen einen stärkeren Wissenszuwachs im Bereich des "Kreierens/Generierens von Handlungsoptionen" bei der Testung pädagogischen Wissens. (Hsieh et al 2011).…”

Establishing Validity of the Thai Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument

“…During the last five decades mathematics educators from around the world have been working together to better understand the teaching and learning of mathematics (Hsieh et al, ; Mullis, Martin, Foy & Arora, ). As part of this process researchers continue to work on creating instruments that produce reliable and valid results across cultures and languages.…”

Ideal Mathematics Teaching Behaviors: A Comparison between the Perspectives of Senior High School Students and their Teachers in Taiwan and Mainland China

“…Investigating teacher perspective can reveal the instruction which is possibly implemented in real mathematics classes because teachers in Taiwan and mainland China are of high quality so that they are likely to conduct teaching behaviors which they consider appropriate (Hsieh et al, 2011;Leung, 2006). Investigating student perspective can inform researchers and educators about student needs and thus refine student-centred views of teaching (Kane & Maw, 2005;Lee, Kim, & Chan, 2015;Smith & Gorard, 2006) that have been promoted in innovative mathematics instruction following the curriculum reforms in Taiwan and mainland China.…”

“…From the student-centred perspective, these factors and the corresponding mathematics teaching behaviors constitute part of ideal mathematics instruction and should be done in class. In addition, the teachers' endorsement shows the high likelihood that these factors are implemented in mathematics classes in Taiwan and mainland China because teachers in these countries are highly competent and thus capable of performing the teaching behaviors they intend to perform (Hsieh et al, 2011;Leung, 2006). The findings of this study thus reveal the status of mathematics classes, reflecting that in high-achieving East Asian countries in TIMSS and PISA (Mullis et al, 2016;OECD, 2016) such as Taiwan and mainland China, these classes adopt the perspectives of both traditional Chinese and Western cultures.…”