Considering the roles of Mathematics specialist teachers in grade 6-8 classrooms

Karen E. Junqueira; Kathleen T. Nolan

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Karen E. Junqueira, Kathleen T. Nolan

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Abstract

This paper is part of a larger study focusing on the perceptions of five different stakeholder groups about the role of a specialist teacher in the teaching of Mathematics in grades 6-9. Using a research questionnaire, the perceptions of 21 pre-service Mathematics teachers (13 Canadian and 8 South African) regarding whether they would consider becoming a Mathematics specialist teacher and what they considered to be the benefits and shortcomings of Mathematics specialist teachers, were obtained. It is on these perceptions (both the positive and negative ends of the spectrum relating to the use of Mathematics specialist teachers in grades 6-9) that the paper reports. The data indicate how our pre-service teachers think about their future careers as teachers and how they, even as students, take into consideration particular aspects that may benefit or hinder their teaching.

Keywords

Empowerment of teachers
in-depth Mathematics subject knowledge
Mathematics education
Mathematics specialist teacher
multiple teaching strategies
pre-service teacher perspectives

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, 2016, Volume 11, Issue 4, 975-989

Publication date: 20 Jul 2016

Article Views: 2889

Article Downloads: 4613

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How to cite this article

APA

Junqueira, K. E., & Nolan, K. T. (2016). Considering the roles of Mathematics specialist teachers in grade 6-8 classrooms. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 11(4), 975-989.

Vancouver

Junqueira KE, Nolan KT. Considering the roles of Mathematics specialist teachers in grade 6-8 classrooms. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2016;11(4):975-89.

AMA

Junqueira KE, Nolan KT. Considering the roles of Mathematics specialist teachers in grade 6-8 classrooms. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2016;11(4), 975-989.

Chicago

Junqueira, Karen E., and Kathleen T. Nolan. "Considering the roles of Mathematics specialist teachers in grade 6-8 classrooms". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2016 11 no. 4 (2016): 975-989.

Harvard

Junqueira, K. E., and Nolan, K. T. (2016). Considering the roles of Mathematics specialist teachers in grade 6-8 classrooms. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 11(4), pp. 975-989.

MLA

Junqueira, Karen E. et al. "Considering the roles of Mathematics specialist teachers in grade 6-8 classrooms". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 11, no. 4, 2016, pp. 975-989.