THE INVESTIGATION OF MATHEMATICS TEACHERS' BELIEFS REGARDING MATHEMATICS

Abstract

This study aims to examine mathematics teachers' beliefs about the nature, teaching and learning of mathematics in terms of various variables. Determining teachers' beliefs is important because it will affect future teaching methods. The research aims to reveal how teachers' beliefs affect their practices in teaching processes and how these beliefs interact with different variables. The study employed a sample of 160 mathematics teachers working at the primary and secondary levels across all campuses of a private school affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Turkey. The Mathematics Belief Scale (MRBS) was employed as the instrument for data collection. The scale is comprised of two sub-dimensions, which assess constructivist and traditional beliefs, respectively. The research results showed that teachers' mathematical beliefs are related to various demographic and professional factors. The effects of variables such as gender, age, level of education, income status, level of duty, length of professional experience, existence and number of certificates on teachers' beliefs were examined. In particular, it was determined that female teachers had higher beliefs about mathematics than male teachers, and teachers working at the primary school level had higher constructivist beliefs than those working at the secondary school level. The study revealed that teachers' traditional beliefs were at a medium level and their constructivist beliefs were at a high level. In addition, a negative relationship was found between teachers' ages and their traditional beliefs. These findings can make significant contributions to the development of teacher training programs and the improvement of mathematics education.

Keywords

• Belief
• Mathematics
• Mathematics Teaching

MATEMATİK ÖĞRETMENLERİNİN MATEMATİĞE İLİŞKİN İNANÇLARININ İNCELENMESİ

Öz

Bu çalışma, matematik öğretmenlerinin matematiğin doğası, öğretimi ve öğrenimine ilişkin inançlarını çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Öğretmenlerin inançlarının belirlenmesi, gelecekteki öğretim yöntemlerini etkileyeceği için önemlidir. Araştırma, öğretmenlerin inançlarının öğretim süreçlerindeki uygulamalarını nasıl etkilediğini ve bu inançların farklı değişkenlerle nasıl etkileşimde bulunduğunu ortaya çıkarmayı hedeflemektedir. Çalışmada, Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı'na bağlı özel bir okulun Türkiye geneli tüm kampüslerinde ilköğretim ve ortaöğretim kademelerinde görev yapan 160 matematik öğretmeni örneklem olarak seçilmiştir. Veri toplama aracı olarak Matematik ile İlgili İnanç Ölçeği (MRBS) kullanılmıştır. Ölçek, yapılandırmacı ve geleneksel inançları ölçen iki alt boyuttan oluşmaktadır. Araştırma sonuçları, öğretmenlerin matematik inançlarının çeşitli demografik ve mesleki faktörlerle ilişkili olduğunu göstermiştir. Cinsiyet, yaş, eğitim düzeyi, gelir durumu, görev yapılan kademe, mesleki deneyim süresi, sertifika varlığı ve sayısı gibi değişkenlerin öğretmenlerin inançları üzerindeki etkileri incelenmiştir. Özellikle, kadın öğretmenlerin erkeklere göre daha yüksek matematik ile ilgili inançlara sahip olduğu, ilkokul kademesinde görev yapan öğretmenlerin ortaokul kademesinde görev yapanlara göre daha yüksek yapılandırmacı inançlara sahip olduğu belirlenmiştir. Çalışma, öğretmenlerin geleneksel inançlarının orta düzeyde, yapılandırmacı inançlarının ise yüksek düzeyde olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca, öğretmenlerin yaşları ile geleneksel inançları arasında negatif yönlü bir ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Bu bulgular, öğretmen yetiştirme programlarının geliştirilmesinde ve matematik eğitiminin iyileştirilmesinde önemli katkılar sunabilecek niteliktedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İnanç
• Matematik
• Matematik Öğretimi.

Kaynakça

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