New study challenges how teacher training programs shape math educators
Researchers say teacher education programs should build on prospective teachers' existing beliefs rather than replace them wholesale. The finding could reshape how schools recruit, train, and retain math teachers—a workforce challenge affecting K-12 education systems globally.
Originaltitel: Exploring Prospective Teachers’ Initial Views on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics: A Narrative Approach
<p>Mathematics teacher education research often focuses on ways teacher education can change prospective teachers' views in ways prescribed by teacher educators. In this paper, we explore a different perspective, one that emphasises the importance of understanding the diversity of views that prospective teachers bring to their teacher education programmes, not as a basis of change, but as a platform to build upon. In doing so, we make a case for ‘aestheticising’ mathematics teacher education research and propose an arts-based approach to analysing and presenting data concerning prospective teachers views on the teaching and learning of mathematics. We exemplify this approach by presenting a fictionalised dialogue between four prospective teachers from Sweden, based on interviews conducted prior to them entering teacher education.</p>