Pre-service mathematics teachers (PSTs) may hold different beliefs about school mathematics and university mathematics and different beliefs about teaching mathematics between high-achieving (HA) vs. low-achieving (LA) classes. Because of the differentiation, the beliefs relationship is complex. This quantitative study administered a questionnaire…

Despite the recognized importance of mathematical proof in secondary education, there is a limited but growing body of literature indicating how preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs) view proof and the teaching of proof. The purpose of this survey research was to explore PSMTs' knowledge and beliefs about proof and proof teaching in…

We consider the following hypothesis: whereas, the institutions in charge of the teaching of mathematics for future professional mathematicians (IPM, in short) share a "didactic paradigm" (strongly based on logical arguments), there does not seem to be such a thing in secondary mathematics education. In this work, we analyse the notion…

One of the key problems to be solved in mathematics education in England is that the demand for mathematics teachers is far in excess of the supply. Acknowledging that there are simply too few mathematics teachers, the UK government has invested significantly in retraining programmes. These programmes 'retrain' out-of-field teachers, that is,…

This case study investigates the impact of the integration of information and communications technology (ICT) in mathematics visualization skills and initial teacher education programmes. It reports on the influence GeoGebra dynamic software use has on promoting mathematical learning at secondary school and on its impact on teachers' conceptions…

The Tchokwe people lived on the African continent, in Mozambique and Angola. The sona belong to their cultural tradition. The sona are drawings made in the sand by older members of the tribe to tell stories, essential in the youngests' formation. In this article, we show a relationship between the sona and the greatest common divisor (GCD) of two…

College students may be seen as near-peers to high school students and high school students are often able to see themselves in the college students who are but one step ahead. This nearness in maturity and educational level may place college students in a particularly powerful position when it comes to reaching out to high school students to…

Many studies over the past 30 years have highlighted the important role of students' beliefs for successful problem-solving in mathematics. Given the recent emphasis afforded to problem-solving on the reformed Irish secondary school mathematics curriculum, the main aim of this study was to identify Irish students' (n = 975) beliefs about the…

Applications and modelling have gained a prominent role in mathematics education reform documents and curricula. Thus, there is a growing need for studies focusing on the effective use of mathematical modelling in classrooms. Assessment is an integral part of using modelling activities in classrooms, since it allows teachers to identify and manage…

This study investigates the potential of video analysis and a mathematical knowledge for teaching framework, the Knowledge Quartet (KQ), in mathematics teacher education programmes. It reports on the effectiveness of these tools in analysing and supporting secondary level pre-service mathematics teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical…

This article discusses key issues surrounding the nature and development of professional knowledge for effective teaching of mathematics, especially at the secondary school level. In the education research community it is generally accepted that teachers need more than knowledge of the content they will teach; an additional construct, pedagogical…

Mathematics education researchers are asking themselves about why technology has impacted heavily on the social environment and not in the mathematics classroom. The use of technology in the mathematics classroom has not had the expected impact, as it has been its use in everyday life (i.e. cell phone). What about teachers' opinions? Mathematics…

Finding educational truths is an inherently multivariate problem. There are many factors affecting each student and their performances. Because of this, both measuring of skills and assessing students are always complex processes. This is a well-known problem, and a number of solutions have been proposed by specialists. One of its ramifications is…

There has been much debate in recent years as to the amount and type of mathematical knowledge that teachers need to acquire. One set of recommendations is provided by the Mathematical Education of Teachers (MET) report, produced jointly by the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. This paper reports on efforts…