Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers' Self-Perceptions of Readiness to Teach Secondary School Mathematics

Abstract

It has been argued that pre-service mathematics teachers (PSMTs) must possess a substantial level of both mathematical content knowledge and mathematical pedagogical knowledge to teach mathematics effectively. Therefore, studies have often evaluated teachers’ classroom readiness against these factors. However, to-date, only a few studies have sought PSMTs’ perceptions of their own readiness to teach. In this study, we evaluated PSMTs’ self-perceptions of readiness to teach secondary mathematics. Specifically, PSMTs’ self-perceptions of classroom readiness were explored in terms of mathematical content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and mathematical knowledge for teaching. The study was conducted at an Australian university with campuses in different states, and includes PSMTs in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Our results indicate that the majority of participants feel adequately prepared to teach lower secondary school mathematics. However, further training is required to develop both their content and pedagogical knowledge to confidently teach upper secondary mathematics.