Contributions of “Mathematics for Elementary Teachers” Courses to Teaching: Prospective Teachers’ Views and Examples

Abstract

A Mathematics course for elementary school teachers (MFET) is required in North America in most teacher education programs. Our study investigates the perceptions of prospective elementary school teachers with respect to the contributions of such a course to their teaching. The results show that acquiring an understanding of concepts from the elementary school curriculum is the main contribution that they perceive. We conclude with two perspectives – a pessimistic one and an optimistic one – on this finding.