Naslov
Math teachers' perception of Mathematics education in elementary and secondary schools in Croatia – results of an empirical research

Autori
Baranović, Branislava ; Štibrić, Marina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, znanstveni

Skup
The Second International Scientific Colloquium &laquo ; ; Mathematics and Children&raquo ; ; , Josip Juraj Stossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Teacher Education and Department of Mathematics, Osijek

Mjesto i datum
Osijek, Hrvatska, 24.04.2009

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
mathematics education; math teachers; mathematical competence; math teaching methods and procedures; students activities in class

Sažetak
The presentation presents the results of an empirical research which investigates math teachers’ perceptions of mathematics education in elementary and secondary schools in Croatia. The sample included 292 participants of The Third Congress of Mathematics Teachers’ held in Zagreb in 2008. The applied questionnaire consisted of mainly closed questions which measured teachers’ opinions on a 4-point Likert scale, and a few open-ended items. Research results show that the traditional approach and traditional teaching methods prevail in Croatian elementary and secondary schools. For instance, when defining mathematical competence, the teachers emphasize solving mathematical tasks, learning basic mathematical facts and applying mathematical knowledge. In teaching mathematics, they put the biggest emphasis on solving mathematical tasks and the development of logical thinking, while the application of mathematics in everyday life and critical thinking about mathematical concepts and procedures they consider less important. Teachers’ responses indicate that they mostly develop students’ skill of asking questions and seeking information, concept understanding, and students’ interest in mathematics, while not spending a lot of effort on developing students’ skill in written communication of ideas and results, and skills in learning mathematics. If we exclude the usual assigning and examining homework, the most common teaching methods are dialogue (94.8%), demonstration of procedures for solving mathematical problems (93.6%), and lecture when introducing a new mathematical concept (86.2%). According to teachers’ estimates, during mathematics lessons students most often listen and copy from the board (87.8%), solve mathematical tasks on their own (87.8%), and comment on a previous or upcoming test (87.8%). Activities that require autonomous students work, like writing of their own ideas about mathematical concepts (4.1%), autonomous research and experiments (17.0%), and autonomous learning from the textbooks, are the least often used students’ activities. Teachers say that, on average, they spend 34.8% of time on teaching mathematical concepts, and most of the time they teach solving mathematical tasks. The results reveal that critical reflection on mathematical concepts, autonomous thinking and concluding about mathematical concepts and procedures aren’ t developed enough in Croatian mathematics education, and that inquiry based method and problem solving are rarely used. However, these methods are essential for the development of mathematical competence.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Sociologija, Pedagogija

POVEZANOST RADA