The Enactment and Perception of Mathematics Pedagogical Values in an Elementary Classroom: Buddhism, Confucianism, and Curriculum Reform

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the values demonstrated by an elementary school teacher in her mathematics teaching and what values her students perceived. This research adopted the valuing theory (Raths, Harmin & Simon, 1987) and used classroom observations and interviews to document the teacher's mathematics pedagogical values and a questionnaire, interviews, and instructional artifacts to document the students' perceptions of these values. The results of this research identified two educational values and three mathematics pedagogical values that were influenced by the teacher's personal beliefs about Buddhism, Confucianism, and curriculum. Her goals for education were to reinstate the students' original enlightenment and the students' respect for ethics and experts when dealing with people and life; and her values about mathematics learning were that it depends on individual efforts and personal understanding, her central purposes for teaching were to make students understand the mathematics content and to cultivate their problem-solving methods, and her purposes for evaluation were to understand students' learning and to encourage students to correct their errors. The students' awareness of these goals and values did not parallel the teacher's personal priorities. The implications of teachers' pedagogical values on teacher professional development and curriculum reform are discussed.

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