Taiwanese primary school teachers’ perceived enablers for and barriers to the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning

Abstract

This study is part of the international survey studies on teachers’ beliefs concerning the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning, and this paper reports the findings of the thematic analysis of open-ended survey responses elicited from 287 primary school teachers and teacher trainees in Taiwan. Using the seminal social psychology theory, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211, 1991) to frame the findings, this study highlights 11 perceived barriers and 11 perceived enablers that are thought to influence the teachers’ intention to integrate children’s literature in their mathematics teaching. More specifically, we identified time constraint, lack of pedagogical knowledge and confidence, and resource constraint as being the most-cited perceived barriers, while pedagogical benefits, desire to improve teaching, and enabling social norms were identified as the top perceived enablers. Ultimately, this article offers several recommendations to address some of these key perceived barriers.

Effects of using picture books in mathematics teaching and learning: A systematic literature review from 2000–2022

“…Teachers lacking pedagogical knowledge and confidence may undermine the positive effects of integration on student performance. Three studies (Livy et al, 2021; Prendergast et al, 2019; Yang et al, 2021) found that 48.5%, 22.8% and 23.4% of surveyed in‐service and pre‐service teachers in Australia, Taiwan and Ireland, respectively, lacked the pedagogical knowledge and confidence in carrying out such integration. Certain teachers mentioned that they had no ideas, examples or approaches for integrating picture book contents into their lessons.…”

“…Teachers with strong ‘perceived pedagogical benefits’ found the integration of picture books into mathematics teaching an inspiring teaching method/tool, encouraging them to teach mathematics creatively. Around 50%–60% of surveyed teachers in Australia, Taiwan and Ireland agreed that picture books had pedagogical benefits (Livy et al, 2021; Prendergast et al, 2019; Yang et al, 2021), and appreciated how picture books can connect mathematics to the real world, allowing students to visualise and understand mathematical concepts better. Can and Durmaz (2022) revealed that teachers with relatively less teaching experience (1–5 years) had stronger beliefs about the positive pedagogical effects of integration than teachers with more experience (16–20 years).…”

“…Nine studies (Björklund & Palmér, 2020; Can et al, 2020; Can & Durmaz, 2022; Durmaz & Miçooğullari, 2021; Livy et al, 2021; Ompok et al, 2018; Prendergast et al, 2019; Wikholm & Aerila, 2017; Yang et al, 2021) mentioned several key factors influencing the effect of integrating picture books into mathematics teaching.…”

“…The four identified inhibiting factors were lack of pedagogical knowledge and confidence by teachers, time constraints, resources constraints and doubts about the expected outcomes. Many of these factors relate to the concern of teachers regarding which picture books are suitable for mathematics teaching and how to use them in their practice (i.e., Livy et al, 2021; Yang et al, 2021). Mathematical picture books often contain two main lines behind their contents: one is the development line of mathematical content, and the other is the storyline.…”

An Evaluation of The Preservice-Teacher Training for Children’s Literature and Mathematics Integration

“…This theory was used so many times to explain teacher intentions about children's literature and mathematics integration in the literature (ex. Farrugia & Trakulphadetkrai, 2020;Yang et al, 2021). To this theory, teachers' behavioral intentions are shaped by attitudes towards the behaviors, subjective norms about these behaviors, and perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 2020).…”