Pre-service Primary Teachers’ Perceptions of Mathematics Education Lecturers’ Practice: Identifying Issues for Curriculum Development

Abstract

Teacher educators’ work with pre-service teachers plays a part in trying to shape the nature of classroom teaching. Their teaching usually follows an established curriculum and delivery that is underpinned by particular theoretical, philosophical or political agendas. In an institution where the teacher education programme is predicated on constructivism and a transformative agenda, a study was conducted on how primary student teacher perceived the ‘lived’ mathematics education curriculum. This paper reports on the student teachers’ views of their mathematics education lecturers’ practice as explored through their perceptions of the mathematics education classroom interactions and learning environments they experienced. The questionnaires used showed differences in the student teachers’ views of sociocultural and critical focussed aspects of the classroom environments, both within and between the two instruments. Some initial ‘in-house’ approaches to addressing issues identified, along with approaches from the literature that could enhance the transformative aspects of the mathematics education courses, are presented.