Changing the Attitudes and Beliefs of Pre-service Primary Teachers Towards Mathematics (original) (raw)
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A Study Of Mathematics Anxiety in Pre-Service Teachers
Early Childhood Education Journal, 2007
The study investigated the changes in levels of mathematics anxiety among pre-service teachers in six different sections of a mathematics method courses for early childhood/elementary education pre-service teachers. The changes were a function of using BrunerÕs framework of developing conceptual knowledge before procedural knowledge and using manipulatives and other activities to make mathematics concepts more concrete and meaningful. Data were collected using quantitative and qualitative measures. Two hundred forty-six pre-service teachers completed a 98-item Likert-type survey. Informal discussions, informal interviews, and questionnaire-guided narrative interviews were conducted with pre-service teachers. Data revealed a statistically significant reduction in mathematics anxiety in pre-service teachers (p < .001) who completed a mathematics methods course that emphasized BrunerÕs model of concept development. Results of the study have implications for teacher education programs concerning how future teachers are trained, the measurement of mathematics anxiety levels among pre-service teachers, and the determination of specific contexts in which mathematics anxiety can be interpreted and reduced.
CAUSES UNDERLYING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' NEGATIVE BELIEFS AND ANXIETIES ABOUT MATHEMATICS
This article reports on a study that investigated the causes underlying a sample of eighteen third-year Australian pre-service primary teachers' negative beliefs and anxiety about mathematics. It was found that most of the participants' maths-anxiety could be attributed to their primary school experiences in learning mathematics. Situations such as teaching mathematics or being evaluated in mathematics were noted as particularly stressful and mathematical topics such as algebra, space and number sense were specifically identified to cause maths-anxiety. The paper concludes with a brief discussion about the implications of these findings for an ensuing program whose purpose is to help these pre-service teachers address their negative beliefs and anxieties about mathematics.
Situational effects of mathematics anxiety in pre-service teacher education
2011
The new National Program Standards for Accreditation of Initial Teacher Education states that “applicantsʼ levels of personal literacy and numeracy should be broadly equivalent to those of the top 30 per cent of the population” (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2011, p. 13) or, if pre-service teachers enrolled in the degree have not met this equivalence, institutions “must establish satisfactory additional arrangements to ensure that all students are supported to achieve the required standard before graduation” (AITSL, 2011, p. 13). This places an emphasis on the numeracy and mathematical skills of the pre-service teachers completing the Early Childhood and Primary bachelor degrees. However, little consideration is given in their teaching qualification preparation to the anxiety these pre-service teachers may have towards mathematics. Pre-service teachers with mathematics anxiety may avoid mathematics (Isiksal, Curran, Koc, & Askum, 2009), may have lo...
Feeling Good about Teaching Mathematics: Addressing Anxiety amongst Pre-Service Teachers
Research regarding pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards teaching mathematics has revealed that many pre-service teachers experience high levels of mathematics anxiety about both the learning of mathematics and the teaching of the mathematics curriculum. Little is known about the particular characteristics of pre-service teachers that make them more likely to experience anxiety about mathematics in the early years. Addressing anxiety towards mathematics and the teaching of mathematics could effectively eliminate later problems in teaching. Teaching mathematics confidently is associated with teachers’ beliefs about their mathematical ability, which is their mathematical self-efficacy. This paper reports on an investigation into the anxiety of first- year pre-service teachers towards their future teaching of mathematics. 223 students enrolled in a first-year mathematics unit for birth to eight years, in the Bachelor of Education of Early Childhood and Primary Education Courses attributed their beliefs about mathematics to external—their past teachers—or internal factors: that one is either good at mathematics or not. The findings highlight the need for pre-service teacher’s anxiety about mathematics to be addressed within the university education classroom context so that pre-service teachers become capable and competent teachers of mathematics.
Teacher Development, 2020
This study explores effects of teaching experience and specialized mathematics education on mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety. Fifty-nine female pre-service and in-service mathematics primary school teachers with varied specialized mathematics education and teaching experience responded to a questionnaire measuring mathematics anxiety and mathematics teaching anxiety. The results illustrate that specialized mathematics education affects in-service primary school teachers' mathematics anxiety, and that teaching experience is associated with mathematics teaching anxiety. Moreover, mathematics anxiety of some in-service primary teachers without specialization does not fade with time. The discussion highlights the importance of identifying mathematics anxiety in primary school teachers with no specialized mathematics education, aiming to lower it. The small sample and participants' background limit the power of the findings. This study recommends conducting further studies according to the suggested mathematics anxiety cognitive-behavioral model; addressing cultural differences, teachers with and without specialized mathematics education, and comparing middle and secondary teachers.
Pre-service teachers' attitudes towards mathematics and mathematics education
2000
The aim of the study is to examine the attitudes towards mathematics of mathematics, science and elementary school pre-service teachers and to investigate the differences among gender, grades and teaching fields. A total of 456 pre-service teachers, who were studying in the Education Faculty of Abant İzzet Baysal University in Turkey in the 2011-2012 fall semester, including 141 mathematics, 163 science and 152 elementary school pre-service teachers participated in the research. The data of this research have been obtained as a result of the application of the Attitudes towards Mathematics Instrument on the mathematics, science and elementary school pre-service teachers that participated with the research. In conclusion, it has been understood that majority of the pre-service teachers have high level of positive attitudes towards mathematics, but some pre-service teachers' attitudes need to be developed. There is a significant difference between attitudes towards mathematics of sophomores and seniors pre-service teachers and there is not a significant difference between average points of female and male pre-service teachers in relation to their attitudes towards mathematics.
Social Behavior and Personality, 2009
The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of type of educational system and years spent in teacher education programs on preservice teachers' mathematics anxiety and mathematical self-concept scores. The sample consisted of 234 American and 276 Turkish early childhood and elementary school preservice teachers. The Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale (AMAS; Hopko, 2003) was used to measure how anxious preservice teachers feel during a specific mathematics related event. In order to measure the mathematical selfconcept of preservice teachers, the Experience with Mathematics Questionnaire (EMQ; Gourgey, 1982) was used. Regarding the effect of the educational system, results revealed that while the American preservice teachers had significantly higher anxiety scores, Turkish preservice teachers had significantly higher self-concept scores. Results supported previous findings emphasizing the negative relationship between mathematical anxiety and mathematical self-concept.
Mathematical beliefs and achievement of pre-service primary teachers
2005
Pre-service primary teachers in their first mathematics pedagogy subject at the University of Western Sydney completed three surveys: an achievement test of the mathematics they would be expected to teach; a survey of their beliefs about mathematics, mathematics teaching and mathematics learning; and a survey of their attitudes towards mathematics This paper reports the data from the achievement test and the beliefs survey, and investigates the relationships between these
The level of mathematics anxiety among pre-service elementary school teachers
The aim of this study is to investigate the level of mathematics anxiety among pre-service elementary school teachers. Survey method was used in this descriptive type study. The sample of the study consisted of 207 pre-service elementary school teachers. To assess mathematics anxiety level, a mathematics anxiety scale composed of 39 items developed by Ülda (2005) was used. The data were analyzed by independent samples t-test using the SPSS 13.0 statistics program. In conclusion with the analysis, the level of mathematics anxiety of pre-service elementary school teachers was interpreted as low and the difference based on gender was not significant. On the other hand, there were significant differences according to class, perceived ability and perceived success levels. Finally, suggestions to teacher educators were provided to overcome mathematics anxiety.