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Profiles of teachers’ general pedagogical knowledge: nature, causes and effects on beliefs and instructional quality

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Abstract

The aim of the research described in this paper was to identify qualitatively different profiles of teachers’ general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) as a central component of their competence. We applied a mixed Rasch model to a sample of 462 mathematics and non-mathematics teachers who were tested using a short version of the TEDS-M test for GPK. The analysis revealed two profiles that were characterized by (quantitative) differences in their overall GPK level as well as (qualitative) differences in how well these groups did on specific items. The profiles differed mainly on items dealing with adaptivity, notably on a set related to Bruner’s modes of representation. A person-focused comparison of the profiles showed that teachers who had undergone training for teaching mathematics had a higher chance of belonging to the profile with strength on these and other adaptivity items. The profiles were validated against teachers’ beliefs and their instructional quality. The results showed that the two groups differed significantly in their epistemological as well as teaching and learning beliefs. Moreover, they differed significantly in the cognitive activation level of their instruction.

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Notes

  1. Latent variables are visualized in circles, manifest variables in squares.

  2. The mean of class 2 is set to zero by default in Mplus, so that the mean of class 1 represents the difference of latent factor means between the two classes.

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Acknowledgements

The project TEDS-Validate (“Teacher Education and Development Study–Validierung der Instrumente aus der internationalen Vergleichsstudie TEDS-M und ihrer Follow-Up-Studie TEDS-FU”) was funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; Project number 01PK15006B). The analyses prepared for this article and the views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BMBF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Social Sciences, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Cologne, Gronewaldstr. 2a, 50931, Cologne, Germany

    Caroline Nehls & Johannes König

  2. Mathematics Education, Faculty of Education, University of Hamburg, Alsterterrasse 1, 20354, Hamburg, Germany

    Gabriele Kaiser

  3. Learning Sciences Institute, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia

    Gabriele Kaiser

  4. Centre of Educational Measurement (CEMO), University of Oslo, Gaustadalléen 30D, 0373, Oslo, Norway

    Sigrid Blömeke

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Nehls, C., König, J., Kaiser, G. et al. Profiles of teachers’ general pedagogical knowledge: nature, causes and effects on beliefs and instructional quality. ZDM Mathematics Education 52, 343–357 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-019-01102-3

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