TY - JOUR
T1 - Prospective teachers' beliefs about problem-solving
T2 - Cypriot and English cultural constructions
AU - Xenofontos, Constantinos
AU - Andrews, Paul
PY - 2012/3
Y1 - 2012/3
N2 - In this paper we report on a small-scale comparative examination of prospective elementary teachers' beliefs about problem-solving in Cyprus and England. First year undergraduate students (13 from Cyprus and 14 from England) from a well-regarded university in each country were qualitatively interviewed at the commencement of their respective teacher education programmes. Data, which were analysed by means of a combination of theory- and data-driven coding, indicated that, in both countries, students entered university with beliefs about problems and problem-solving that were not only products of the cultures in which they were educated, but also frequently incommensurate with the problem-solving expectation of the curricular frameworks within which they would have to work as teachers. Also, the outcomes confirmed that, despite researchers' assumptions of definitional convergence, the expressions 'mathematical problem' and 'problem-solving' continue to be used differently across cultures. Some implications for teacher education are discussed.
AB - In this paper we report on a small-scale comparative examination of prospective elementary teachers' beliefs about problem-solving in Cyprus and England. First year undergraduate students (13 from Cyprus and 14 from England) from a well-regarded university in each country were qualitatively interviewed at the commencement of their respective teacher education programmes. Data, which were analysed by means of a combination of theory- and data-driven coding, indicated that, in both countries, students entered university with beliefs about problems and problem-solving that were not only products of the cultures in which they were educated, but also frequently incommensurate with the problem-solving expectation of the curricular frameworks within which they would have to work as teachers. Also, the outcomes confirmed that, despite researchers' assumptions of definitional convergence, the expressions 'mathematical problem' and 'problem-solving' continue to be used differently across cultures. Some implications for teacher education are discussed.
KW - beliefs
KW - Problem-solving
KW - teacher education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84858656787&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14794802.2012.657439
DO - 10.1080/14794802.2012.657439
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84858656787
SN - 1479-4802
VL - 14
SP - 69
EP - 85
JO - Research in Mathematics Education
JF - Research in Mathematics Education
IS - 1
ER -