Examining Teacher Mathematics-related Beliefs and Problem-solving Knowledge for Teaching: Evidence from Indonesian Primary and Secondary Teachers

Tatag Yuli Eko Siswono; Ahmad Wachidul Kohar; Sugi Hartono; Abdul Haris Rosyidi; Ika Kurniasari; Karim Karim

Vol. 11 No. 5 (2019) IEJEE

Examining Teacher Mathematics-related Beliefs and Problem-solving Knowledge for Teaching: Evidence from Indonesian Primary and Secondary Teachers

Tatag Yuli Eko Siswono
Ahmad Wachidul Kohar
Sugi Hartono
Abdul Haris Rosyidi
Ika Kurniasari
Karim Karim

Published July 1, 2019 | Pages: 493-506 | Views: 831

Download PDF

SHARE

Abstract

This paper reports a two-year research project studying Indonesian primary and secondary teachers’ mathematics-related beliefs (MrB) and mathematical problem-solving knowledge for teaching (MPSKT). In the first year, a quantitative study involving 80 primary teachers, 70 lower secondary school, and 55 upper secondary schools from four districts in East Java province, Indonesia was carried out to examine whether there is a difference between the MrB and the MPSKT among them. In the second year, a multiple case study involving ten primary teachers and 13 lower secondary teachers was conducted to understand their MrB and MPSKT through some particular issues related to three domains of MrB: nature of mathematics, mathematics teaching, mathematics learning. Results indicate that there is no significant difference of MrB between primary and secondary teachers, while there is a significant difference between MPSKT of primary teachers and secondary teacher. Findings also suggest that inconsistencies not only occur between the three domains of MrB but also occurs between particular issues discussed within one domain. Also, this study highlight that beliefs about nature of mathematics was mainly influenced by teachers' experience when learning mathematics during their schooling experience while beliefs about teaching and learning were mainly influenced by the demand of current reform of mathematics curriculum.

This paper reports a two-year research project studying Indonesian primary and secondary teachers’ mathematics-related beliefs (MrB) and mathematical problem-solving knowledge for teaching (MPSKT). In the first year, a quantitative study involving 80 primary teachers, 70 lower secondary school, and 55 upper secondary schools from four districts in East Java province, Indonesia was carried out to examine whether there is a difference between the MrB and the MPSKT among them. In the second year, a multiple case study involving ten primary teachers and 13 lower secondary teachers was conducted to understand their MrB and MPSKT through some particular issues related to three domains of MrB: nature of mathematics, mathematics teaching, mathematics learning. Results indicate that there is no significant difference of MrB between primary and secondary teachers, while there is a significant difference between MPSKT of primary teachers and secondary teacher. Findings also suggest that inconsistencies not only occur between the three domains of MrB but also occurs between particular issues discussed within one domain. Also, this study highlight that beliefs about nature of mathematics was mainly influenced by teachers' experience when learning mathematics during their schooling experience while beliefs about teaching and learning were mainly influenced by the demand of current reform of mathematics curriculum.
&nbsp;

Listen -

References

Andrews, P., & Hatch, G. (2000). A comparison of Hungarian and English teachers' conceptions of mathematics and its teaching. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 43(1), 31-64. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017575231667
Antonius, S., Haines, C., Jensen, T. H., Niss, M., & Burkhardt, H. (2007). Classroom activities and the teacher. In W. Blum, P. L. Galbraith, H.-W. Henn, & M. Niss (Eds.), Modelling and applications in mathematics education (pp. 295–308). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-29822-1_31
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Irvine, C. K. S., & Walker, D. (2018). Introduction to research in education. Cengage Learning.
Beswick, K. (2012). Teachers' beliefs about school mathematics and mathematicians' mathematics and their relationship to practice. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 79(1), 127-147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9333-2
Blum, W., & Ferri, R. B. (2009). Mathematical modelling: can it be taught and learned? Journal of Mathematical Modelling and Application, 1(1), 45–58. http://gorila.furb.br/ojs/index.php/modelling/article/download/1620/1087
Bray, W. S. (2011). A collective case study of the influence of teachers' beliefs and knowledge on error-handling practices during class discussion of mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics education, 42(1), 2-38. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5951/jresematheduc.42.1.0002
Cai, J. (2004). Why do US and Chinese students think differently in mathematical problem-solving?: Impact of early algebra learning and teachers' beliefs. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 23(2), 135-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2004.03.004
Cai, J., & Wang, T. (2009). Conceptions of effective mathematics teaching within a cultural context: Perspectives of teachers from China and the United States. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 13(3), 265-287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9132-1
Chapman, O. (2015). Mathematics teachers’ knowledge for teaching problem solving. LUMAT (2013–2015 Issues), 3(1), 19-36. http://www.lumat.fi/index.php/lumat-old/article/download/38/28
Correa, C. A., Perry, M., Sims, L. M., Miller, K. F., & Fang, G. (2008). Connected and culturally embedded beliefs: Chinese and US teachers talk about how their students best learn mathematics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 140-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.11.004
Ekawati, R., Lin, F. L., & Yang, K. L. (2015). Developing an instrument for measuring teachers’mathematics content knowledge on ratio and proportion: a case of Indonesian primary teachers. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 13(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9532-2
Ernest, P. (1989). The impact of beliefs on the teaching of mathematics. Mathematics teaching: The state of the art, 249, 254. http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/edoc/e/pome/impact.htm
Fusch, P. I., & Ness, L. R. (2015). Are we there yet? Data saturation in qualitative research. The qualitative report, 20(9), 1408-1416. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol20/iss9/3/
Glaser, B. (2017). Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge.
Handal, B., & Herrington, A. (2003). Mathematics teachers’ beliefs and curriculum reform. Mathematics education research journal, 15(1), 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217369
Leavy, A., & Hourigan, M. (2019). Posing mathematically worthwhile problems: developing the problem-posing skills of prospective teachers. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-018-09425-w
Miles dan Huberman. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Exposed Sourcebook 2nd. London: SAGE Publication Ltd.
Ministry of Education (MoE) (2016). Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia Nomor 21 Tahun 2016 tentang Standar Isi Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah. (Minister of Education and Culture Regulation Number 21 of 2016 concerning Standard Content for Primary and Secondary Education). Jakarta: MoE. https://bsnp-indonesia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/Permendikbud_Tahun2016_Nomor021.pdf
Ng, D. (2011). Indonesian primary teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching geometry: implications for educational policy and teacher preparation programs. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(2), 151-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2011.560648
Perry, B., Wong, N. Y., & Howard, P. (2006). Comparing primary and secondary mathematics teachers’ beliefs about mathematics, mathematics learning and mathematics teaching in Hong Kong and Australia. In Mathematics Education in Different Cultural Traditions-A Comparative Study of East Asia and the West (pp. 435-448). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-29723-5_26
Purnomo, Y. W., Suryadi, D., & Darwish, S. (2016). Examining pre-service elementary school teacher beliefs and instructional practices in mathematics class. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 8(4), 629-642. https://www.iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/download/137/134
Purnomo, Y. W. (2017). The complex relationship between teachers’ Mathematics-related beliefs and their Practices in Mathematics Class. The New Educational Review, 47(1), 200-210. http://www.educationalrev.us.edu.pl/dok/volumes/tner_1_2017b.pdf#page=200
Purnomo, Y. W., Aziz, T. A., Pramudiani, P., Darwis, S., & Suryadi, D. (2018, January). Potential characteristics that relate to teachers mathematics-related beliefs. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 948, No. 1, p. 012062). IOP Publishing. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/948/1/012062/pdf
Raymond, A. M. (1997). Inconsistency between a Beginning Elementary School Teacher's Mathematics Beliefs and Teaching Practice. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 28(5), 550-76. https://www.jstor.org/stable/749691
Ren, L., & Smith, W. M. (2017). Teacher characteristics and contextual factors: links to early primary teachers’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-017-9365-3
Spangenberg, E. D., & Myburgh, C. (2017). Comparing South African Female and Male Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs about the Nature of Mathematics. Africa Education Review, 14(2), 140-155. https://doi.org/10.1080/18146627.2017.1292828
Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative Case studies. In N. K. Denzin & YS Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 443-466).
Tatto, M. T., Peck, R., Schwille, J., Bankov, K., Senk, S. L., Rodriguez, M., ... & Rowley, G. (2012). Policy, Practice, and Readiness to Teach Primary and Secondary Mathematics in 17 Countries: Findings from the IEA Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-MM). International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Herengracht 487, Amsterdam, 1017 BT, The Netherlands. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED542380.pdf
Thompson, A. G. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs and conceptions: A synthesis of the research. In D. A. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 127–146). New York: Macmillan. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1992-97586-007
Van Zoest, L. R., Jones, G. A., & Thornton, C. A. (1994). Beliefs about mathematics teaching held by pre-service teachers involved in a first grade mentorship program. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 6(1), 37-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217261
Wang, T., & Cai, J. (2007). Chinese (Mainland) teachers’ views of effective mathematics teaching and learning. ZDM, 39(4), 287-300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-007-0030-7
Wilkins, J. L. (2008). The relationship among elementary teachers’ content knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11(2), 139-164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-007-9068-2
Wong, K. Y., Tana, Z. B. H. M., & Veloo, P. (2001). Situated Sociocultural Mathematics Education: Vignettes From Southeast. Sociocultural research on mathematics education: an international perspective, 113.
Xie, S., & Cai, J. (2018). Chinese Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematics Teaching. In The 21st Century Mathematics Education in China (pp. 413-427). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55781-5_20
Xenofontos, C. (2014). The cultural dimensions of prospective mathematics teachers’ beliefs: Insights from Cyprus and England. Preschool and Primary Education, 2, 3-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/ppej.85
Xenofontos, C. (2018). Greek-Cypriot elementary teachers’ epistemological beliefs about mathematics. Teaching and Teacher Education, 70 (1), 47-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.11.007
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research and applications: Design and methods Third Edition. Sage publications.

Keywords

Mathematics-related beliefs; problem-solving knowledge for teaching; Instrumentalist, Platonist; problem-solving; Indonesian teacher

Affiliations

Tatag Yuli Eko Siswono

Universitas Negeri Surabaya

Ahmad Wachidul Kohar

Universitas Negeri Surabaya

Sugi Hartono

Universitas Negeri Surabaya

Abdul Haris Rosyidi

Ika Kurniasari

Universitas Negeri Surabaya

Karim Karim

Universitas Lambung Mangkurat

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

How to Cite

Siswono, T. Y. E., Kohar, A. W., Hartono, S., Rosyidi, A. H., Kurniasari, I., & Karim, K. (2019). Examining Teacher Mathematics-related Beliefs and Problem-solving Knowledge for Teaching: Evidence from Indonesian Primary and Secondary Teachers. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 11(5), 493–506. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/789