Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs about the Nature of Teaching and Learning Mathematics

Abstract

Mathematics related beliefs filter preservice and inservice teachers’ experiences of the nature of, teaching, and learning and shape their teaching. Preservice teachers’ beliefs also indicate the effectiveness of teacher education programs. Preservice mathematics teachers’ beliefs about the nature of, teaching, and learning were investigated in this study through a Mathematics Related Beliefs Scale developed for the study. The scale was implemented to 584 third and 4th year preservice elementary mathematics teachers from 10 universities. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that preservice teachers’ mathematics related beliefs significantly differed based on gender favoring female participants. Analysis revealed no difference based on year level in the program and the combination of gender-year level. Preservice teachers’ belief systems included both traditional and constructivist belief clusters (Green, 1971).