INFORMING THE PRACTICE OF MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN THE UPPER PRIMARY CLASSES

Abstract

In a nationwide study conducted in Brunei Darussalam, a survey was given to 322 Mathematics teachers teaching upper primary classes in all government primary schools. One of the aims of the study was to examine the professional practice of teachers in relation to the teaching of Mathematics including the teachers’ understanding of the curriculum and their sense of preparedness in the teaching of primary Mathematics topics. From the findings, 44.3% of teachers recorded a high understanding of the new reformed curriculum goals. However, only 20.2% indicated their degrees of success in the implementation. In relation to the teachers’ sense of preparedness, the primary Mathematics teachers rated themselves as well prepared in teaching majority of the topic areas listed under Number and Operations, Measurement, Geometry and Statistics (between 83% to 96%). While the teachers’ preparedness to teach Algebra (77.0%) and Mathematical Thinking and Problem Solving (65.2%) were not as encouraging.

Keywords

• Mathematics Teaching; Upper Primary,Newly Reformed Education Curriculum; Teachers’ Preparedness,Brunei Darussalam

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