Chinese teachers' mathematics beliefs in the context of curriculum reform

Abstract

This chapter reports case studies of three Chinese teachers' mathematics beliefs, espoused as well as enacted, in the context of a constructivism-oriented curriculum reform. Ernest's and Kuhs and Ball's theoretical frameworks of mathematics beliefs were used to guide the design of the instruments and subsequent characterization of the teachers' mathematics beliefs. Semi-structured interview and videotaped classroom observation were used to collect the data. The interview transcripts were analysed through content analysis, and the classroom videos were examined according to a scheme covering three dimensions: mathematical tasks, learning environment and classroom discourse. Based on the data analysis, it was found that among the three teachers, two teachers' mathematics beliefs were quite traditional, but the third teacher's beliefs were reform-oriented or constructivist. Discussions of findings and implications are presented at the end of this chapter. Read More: http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789814415828_0017