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Teacher characteristics and contextual factors: links to early primary teachers’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes

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Abstract

This study examines how various teacher characteristics and contextual factors are related to early primary teachers’ beliefs about mathematical teaching and learning and teachers’ attitudes toward their own learning of mathematics. A total of 396 early primary teachers across Nebraska participated in the study. Teacher characteristics and contextual factors were grouped into four sets: teacher professional background, teacher mathematical knowledge for teaching, teaching contexts, and students’ experiences. Multiple regression analyses were conducted with each set of predictors separately, as well as with all four sets together. The results showed significant relationships between teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching and teacher-centered beliefs, motivation in learning mathematics, and anxiety toward learning mathematics. Teacher certification level, the number of college math courses taken, and perceived support from colleagues and administrators were also related to some aspects of teachers’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes. The findings suggest the potential role of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching in improving teachers’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes.

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Notes

  1. In this article, we use “mathematical beliefs” to refer to teachers’ beliefs about mathematical teaching and learning. Similarly, we use “mathematical attitudes” and “attitudes toward mathematical learning” interchangeably to refer to teachers’ attitudes toward their own learning of mathematics.

  2. Since this study took place in the USA, we use the naming convention for primary grade levels common to the USA, in which students begin kindergarten at age 5, grade 1 at age 6, etc. Grades K-1-2-3 are the lower primary grades.

  3. Each 3-graduate-credit-hour course is equivalent to about 45 contact hours in addition to homework time.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Grant [Grant Number DUE-0831835].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preschool Education, Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai, 200062, China

    Lixin Ren

  2. Center for Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 251 Avery Hall, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0131, USA

    Wendy M. Smith

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Correspondence to Lixin Ren.

Appendix

Appendix

Perceived support

 I am supported by colleagues to try out new ideas in teaching mathematics

 I am required to follow rules at this school that conflict with my best professional judgment about teaching and learning mathematics (reverse coding)

 I have many opportunities to learn new things about mathematics or mathematics teaching in my present job

Communication

 Communicating suggestions for parents to help students practice mathematics skills at home

 Sending home family mathematics activities

Mathematical attitudes

Confidence in Learning Mathematics Scale

 Generally I have felt secure about attempting mathematics

 For some reason even though I study, math seems unusually hard for me (reverse coding)

Mathematics Anxiety Scale

 Mathematics makes me feel uncomfortable, restless, irritable, or impatient

 My mind goes blank and I am unable to think clearly when doing mathematics

Effectance Motivation Scale

 Mathematics is enjoyable and stimulating to me

 When a math problem arises that I can’t immediately solve, I stick with it until I have the solution

Mathematical beliefs

Teacher-centered beliefs

 Time should be spent practicing computational procedures before children are expected to understand the procedure

 Children learn math best by attending to the teacher’s explanations

Student-centered beliefs

 Teachers should allow children who are having difficulty solving a word problem to continue to try to find a solution

 Mathematics should be presented to children in such a way that they can discover relationships for themselves

Mathematical knowledge for teaching

MKT released sample item

Mrs. Jackson is getting ready for the state assessment, and is planning mini-lessons for students focused on particular difficulties that they are having with adding columns of numbers. To target her instruction more effectively, she wants to work with groups of students who are making the same kind of error, so she looks at a recent quiz to see what they tend to do. She sees the following three student mistakes:

(a) I and II

(b) I and III

(c) II and III

(d) I, II, and III

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Ren, L., Smith, W.M. Teacher characteristics and contextual factors: links to early primary teachers’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes. J Math Teacher Educ 21, 321–350 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-017-9365-3

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