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Challenging teacher beliefs about student engagement in mathematics

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Abstract

This study explored the beliefs about student engagement in mathematics of three Year 5 and 6 teachers, focusing on the shifts that occurred during a 10-week intervention. Data obtained from teacher surveys, interviews, video-recorded workshop observations and artefacts from teachers’ classrooms reveal variations in their reactions to the professional learning experiences. Teacher responses were mediated by personal and contextual elements including teacher efficacy beliefs, teacher confidence in mathematics and their conceptions of student engagement. Theories of teacher conceptual change are used to account for variations to teacher beliefs.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Projects Grant, in partnership with the Catholic Education Office, Sydney.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Janette Bobis, Jennifer Way & Judy Anderson

  2. School of Education, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Andrew J. Martin

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  1. Janette Bobis
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  2. Jennifer Way
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  3. Judy Anderson
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  4. Andrew J. Martin
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Correspondence to Janette Bobis.

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Bobis, J., Way, J., Anderson, J. et al. Challenging teacher beliefs about student engagement in mathematics. J Math Teacher Educ 19, 33–55 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-015-9300-4

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