Troubling "Understanding Mathematics in-Depth": Its Role in the Identity Work of Student-Teachers in England

Autor/inn/en	Hossain, Sarmin; Mendick, Heather; Adler, Jill
Titel	Troubling "Understanding Mathematics in-Depth": Its Role in the Identity Work of Student-Teachers in England
Quelle	In: Educational Studies in Mathematics, 84 (2013) 1, S.35-48 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0013-1954
DOI	10.1007/s10649-013-9474-6
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Secondary School Mathematics; Mathematics Teachers; Alternative Teacher Certification; Nonmajors; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; College Students; Professional Identity; Interviews; Student Attitudes; Teacher Education Programs; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Mathematics; Teacher; Teachers; Mathematik; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Pädagogische Kompetenz; Collegestudent; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Schülerverhalten
Abstract	In this paper, we focus on an initiative in England devised to prepare non-mathematics graduates to train as secondary mathematics teachers through a 6-month Mathematics Enhancement Course (MEC) to boost their subject knowledge. The course documentation focuses on the need to develop "understanding mathematics in-depth" in students in order for them to become successful mathematics teachers. We take a poststructural approach, so we are not interested in asking what such an understanding is, about the value of this approach or about the effectiveness of the MECs in developing this understanding in their participants. Instead we explore what positions this discourse of "understanding mathematics in-depth" makes available to MEC students. We do this by looking in detail at the "identity work" of two students, analysing how they use and are used by this discourse to position themselves as future mathematics teachers. In doing so, we show how even benign-looking social practices such as "understanding mathematics in-depth" are implicated in practices of inclusion and exclusion. We show this through detailed readings of interviews with two participants, one of whom fits with the dominant discourses in the MEC and the other who, despite passing the MEC, experiences tensions between her national identity work and MEC discourses. We argue that it is vital to explore "identity work" within teacher education contexts to ensure that becoming a successful mathematics teacher is equally available to all. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10