Teachers’ Beliefs That Matter in Secondary Mathematics Classrooms

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study that sought to identify particular centrally held beliefs of secondary mathematics teachers that underpinned the establishment of classroom environments that were consistent with the principles of constructivism. The nine crucial beliefs identified were held by one or other of two teachers and emerged from teacher and student surveys, interviews with the teachers and classroom observations. As is the case with all beliefs, these beliefs were contextually bound but since the contexts in which they applied were broader than particular classrooms it is argued that they may be generalisable to other contexts and even predictive of teachers likely to create similar classroom environments.

In-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching, Learning and Nature of Mathematics and Their Mathematics Teaching Practices

“…Hence, talking about math teachers' knowledge of mathematics or methods of teaching mathematics is dependent upon their beliefs. Although there is controversy in educational literature between scientific knowledge and beliefs, both work hand-in-hand in teaching mathematics (Beswick, 2007;Golafshani, 2002).…”

“…A teacher will be mixed in between in his or her beliefs if he or she gets total between (50-74.9). In addition, teachers may be traditionally-inclined in their beliefs if they score 49 or less (Rayan, 2010;Ankoush, 2014;Beswick, 2007;Zakaria & Musiran, 2010).…”

“…Such techniques may also suppress the learner's thinking, which (in turn) would hinder his\her perception of the logical construct of mathematics. Beswick (2007) believed that constructivism views learning as an active construct of knowledge, which is accomplished through interacting with the environment, people, and the cognitive learning process in itself. Rayan (2010) emphasized on the importance of the constructivist approach in learning and teaching science and mathematics through encouraging teachers to care for experiences and preconceived concepts which are held by the student which he\she may come up with in a classroom setting.…”

An examination of some instructional practices in selected rural secondary schools

“…Early researchers in teacher effectiveness of mathematics focused on teacher knowledge of mathematics (Thompson, 2004), teacher beliefs about mathematics, mathematics learning and mathematics instruction (Beswick, 2007;Wilkins, 2008). For instance, Anthony and Walshaw (2009) developed a set of 10 principles that underpin the kinds of pedagogical approaches that were found to assist in developing teachers' mathematical capability and disposition.…”

Psychometric Properties on Lecturers’ Beliefs on Teaching Function: Rasch Model Analysis

“…The failure of much curriculum innovation has been attributed to the neglect by innovators of teachers' perceptions (Sutherland, 1981), and it seems that teachers' own interests and concerns are only rarely allowed to influence or direct the choices made by curriculum developers (Ben-Peretz, 1980). Many studies have investigated the effects of teacher beliefs on instructional practices (Ball, 1996;Beswick, 2005Beswick, , 2007Handal & Herrington, 2003;D. McLeod & S. McLeod, 2002), little research exists which precisely explore what happens when there is a conflict between these beliefs and current practices.…”