A Longitudinal Study of the Attitudes of Early Childhood Preservice Teachers towards Mathematics

Abstract

As in many countries, early childhood teachers introduce mathematics content in kindergartens in Turkey. Therefore, early childhood teachers should master a certain level of mathematics knowledge and are offered a mathematics methods course in faculties of education. Teacher training programs are also expected to improve early childhood preservice teachers PSTs attitudes towards mathematics ATM . In this context, it seems important to investigate whether and how much early childhood PSTs’ attitude towards mathematics changed throughout their university lives. Our study was conducted with a sampling of 43 participants studying at a state university in the north of Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. The data was collected from early childhood PSTs using the same attitude scale in their 1st and 3rd years of study. The quantitative analysis of the data in SPSS 22 using t-test for paired samples demonstrated that the early childhood PSTs’ attitudes towards mathematics have improved from the 1st to the 3rd year. In our sampling, one-way ANOVA and t-test for independent samples revealed that the ATM of the early childhood PSTs were not associated with variables such as gender, the type of completed high school, total family income, and parents’ level of education. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the mathematics methods course offered to early childhood PSTs in their 2nd year might be effective in improving the attitudes towards mathematics.

Keywords

• Early childhood preservice Teachers PSTs,Attitudes towards Mathematics ATM,Longitudinal Study,Mathematics methods course

References

1. Alkan, H., Güzel, E., & Elçi, A. (2004). Öğrencilerin matematiğe yönelik tutumlarında matematik öğretmenlerinin üstlendiği rollerin belirlenmesi. XIII. Ulusal eğitim bilimleri kurultayı.
2. Allport, G. W. (1937). Personality (pp. 173-181). New York: Holt.
3. Ashton, P.T and Webb, R. B. (1986). Making a Difference: Teachers Sense of Efficacy and Student Achievement, Longman, New York.
4. Aydın, S. (2009). Okul Öncesi Eğitimcilerinin Matematik Öğretimiyle İlgili Düşünce ve Uygulamalarının Değerlendirilmesi. Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi. Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Trabzon.
5. Book, C., Byers, I., & Freeman, D. (1983). Student expectations and teacher education traditions with which we can and cannot live. Journal of Teacher Education, 34(l), 9-13.
6. Burroughs, E. A. (2007). Encouraging preservice mathematics teachers as mathematicians. Mathematics Teacher, 100(7), 464–469.
7. Bukova, E. (2006). The development of new curriculum to overcome the students’ difficulties in persiving the concept of limit and constructing the relationship between the concept of limit and the other mathematical concepts. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Dokuz Eylül University.
8. Chester, M. and Beaudin, B. (1996). Efficacy beliefs of newly hired teachers in urban schools, American Educational Research Journal, 33(1), 233-257.

9. Clandinin, J., Connely, F.M. (1987). Teachers’ personal knowledge: What counts as ‘personal’ in studies of the personal. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 19, 487-500.
10. Çepni, S. (2007). Arastirma ve proje çalismalarina giris. Trabzon: Celepler Publications.
11. Elkind, D. (1998). Educating young children in math, science, and technology. Paper presented at the Forum on Early Childhood Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, Washington, DC.
12. Feiman-Nemser, S., Floden, R.E. (1986). The cultures of teaching. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 505 – 526). New York: Macmillan
13. Feiman-Nemser, S., & Buchmann, M. (1985). The first year of teacher preparation: transition to pedagogical thinking? East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University, The Institute for Research on Teaching. Research Series No. 156.
14. Fenstermacher, G.D. (1979). A philosophical consideration of recent research on teacher effectiveness. In L.S. Shulman (Ed), Review of Research in Education(Vol. 6, pp. 157 – 185). Itasca, IL: Peacock.
15. Greg, M., Maio, G. R., & Haddock, G. (2010). The psychology of attitudes and attitude change, SAGE Publications Inc. California.
16. Jones, I., Lake, V. E., & Dagli, U. (2003). Integrating mathematics and science in undergraduate early childhood teacher education programs. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 24, 3–8, doi:10.1016/j.jecte.2003.06.003
17. Jones, I., Lake, V. E., & Dagli, U. (2005). Integration of science and mathematics methods and preservice teachers’ understanding of constructivism. Journal of Research in Early Childhood Teacher Education, 25, 165–172.
18. Krosnick, J. A., Judd, C. M., & Wittenbrink, B. (2005). The measurement of attitudes. The handbook of attitudes, 21-76.
19. Lake, V. E., & Kelly, L. (2014). Female Preservice Teachers and Mathematics: Anxiety, Beliefs, and Stereotypes. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 35(3), 262-275, doi:10.1080/10901027.2014.936071
20. Lake, V. E., Jones, I., & Dagli, U. (2004). Handle with care: Integrating caring content in mathematics and science methods classes. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 19(1),5–17, doi: 10.1080/02568540409595050
21. Lake, V. E., Vives, M. E., & Jones, I. (2004). Preservice teachers’ struggle to transfer metacognitive processes from their integrated mathematics and science methods classes to their field classrooms. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 24(3), 181–187, doi:10.1080/1090102030240307
22. LaPiere, R. T. (2010). Attitudes vs actions. International journal of epidemiology, 39(1), 7-11.
23. Lee, J. S., & Ginsburg, H. P. (2009). Early childhood teachers’ misconceptions about mathematics education for young children in the United Stated. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 34(4), 37–45.
24. Lindgren, S. (1995). Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs and Conceptions about Mathematics and Teaching of Mathematics, University of Tampere, Finland.
25. Mandacı Sahin, S. (2007). The determination of 8th grade students’ mathematical power. Unpublished Doctorate Thesis, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, TURKEY.
26. McLeod, D. B. (1994). Research on affect and mathematics learning in the JRME: 1970 to the present. Journal for research in Mathematics Education, 25(6),637-647.
27. Mewborn, D. S., & Cross, D. I. (2007). Mathematics teachers’ beliefs about mathematics and links to students’ learning. In W. G. Martin, M. E. Strutchens, & P. C. Elliot (Eds.), The learning of mathematics, (pp. 259– 269). Reston, VA: NCTM.
28. Pajares, F. M. (1992). Teachers' beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct, Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307-332.
29. Pehkonen, E. (1994). On teachers’ beliefs and changing mathematics teaching.Journal für Mathematik-Didaktik, 15(3-4), 177-209.
30. Pintrich, P.R. (1990). Implications of psychological research on student learning and college teaching for teacher education. In W. R. Houston (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teacher Education, (pp. 826 - 857). New York: McMillan.
31. Rokeach, M. (1968). Beliefs, attitudes and values: A theory of organization and change.
32. Schram, P., Wilcox, S. K., Lapan, G., and Lanier, P. (1988). Changing preservice teachers beliefs about mathematics education, in C. A. Mahers, G. A. Goldin, and R. B. Davis (eds), Proceedings of PME-NA 11, Vol. I, Rutgers University, New Braunswick, NY, pp. 296-302.
33. Tabacbnick, B. R., & Zeichner, K. M. (1984). The impact of the student teaching experience on the development of teacher perspectives. Journal of teacher education, 35(6), 28-36.
34. Tarım, K. ve Bulut, S. (2006). Okulöncesi Öğretmenlerinin Matematik ve Matematik Öğretimine İlişkin Algı Ve Tutumları, Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 2(32), 152-164.
35. 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, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, pp. 127-145.
36. Vacc, N. N., & Bright, G. W. (1999). Elementary preservice teachers’ changing beliefs and instructional use of children’s mathematical thinking. Journal for Research in mathematics Education, 30(1), 89–110.
37. Vinson, B. M. (2001). A comparison of preservice teachers’ mathematics anxiety before and after a methods class emphasizing manipulatives. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(2), 89–94.
38. Weinstein, C. S. (1989). Teacher education students' perceptions of teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 53 – 60.
39. Yesil-Dagli, U., Lake, V. E., & Jones, I. (2010). Preservice teachers perceptions towards mathematics and science. Journal of Research in Education, 20 (2), 32-48.