Teacher Preparation and the Development of Mathematics Instruction Beliefs in Prospective Teachers

Despite years of attempted mathematics education reform, there is little evidence that prospective teachers entering the profession are significantly better positioned than their in-service peers to implement reform-based mathematics instruction. This study investigated the experiences and beliefs of prospective elementary and secondary teachers regarding mathematics, mathematics instruction, and future teaching practice to identify how their experiences and beliefs informed their overall instructional approaches and their readiness to implement current standards for reform-based mathematics instruction. Using a mixed-methods approach consisting of online survey responses and personal interviews (QUANT -> Qual), I sought to answer the following research questions (RQ):(RQ1) How familiar are prospective elementary and secondary teachers with current reform-based mathematics standards—the Mathematics Florida Standards (MAFS) and the Standards for Mathematical Practice? (RQ2) What type of mathematics instruction and mathematical epistemic beliefs do prospective teachers have, and what relationships do these beliefs have with each other across the different majors? (RQ3) What role do prior experiences, their teacher preparation, and beliefs play in prospective teachers' understandings of reform-based mathematics standards and in their overall instructional approach? Participants were 244 undergraduate students who indicated their plans to become school teachers after graduation and who were enrolled at a top public research university in Florida as either an elementary education major or a secondary double-major in mathematics and secondary education. As part of the study, a subset of students (n = 14) and their instructors (n = 5) were also interviewed. Findings showed that most prospective teachers did not have a thorough knowledge of reform-based mathematics standards in Florida. Additionally, there were no clear relationships between mathematics instruction and mathematical epistemic beliefs in elementary majors, whereas some moderate relationships between these beliefs were found in secondary double-majors. Follow-up interviews revealed that most prospective teachers came from a more traditional mathematics instruction background. In addition, although most prospective elementary and secondary teachers seemed to favor reform-based mathematics instruction beliefs and dynamic mathematical epistemic beliefs, variations of beliefs within each major were not uncommon. Finally, prospective teachers' instructional approaches also varied, with some seemingly more prepared to teach reform-based mathematics standards in a manner congruous with the goals of reform-based mathematics instruction than others. Implications for future research on mathematics teacher education and the implementation of reform-based instructional policies are also discussed. Keywords: mathematical beliefs, mathematics instruction, mathematics teacher education.