Abstract
This study examined the beliefs underlying teachers’ decision-making regarding teaching Mathematical Problem Solving (MPS), from the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). 375 primary teachers drawn from 50 schools in a large, mainly urban local authority in Ghana, completed a questionnaire assessing the direct TPB measures of attitudinal beliefs (positive/negative consequences), normative beliefs (approving/disapproving significant others), control beliefs (easy/difficult circumstances) and intentions in relation to teaching MPS. In the follow up qualitative phase, six semi-structured teacher interviews were conducted to further explore the quantitative findings. The merged results revealed that teachers’ intentions to teach MPS were influenced by their attitudinal beliefs towards teaching MPS (e.g. stimulate critical thinking, apply mathematics to everyday contexts), their perceptions and actions of important others (e.g. education authorities, pupils and parents), and some perceived control difficulties (e.g. lack of instructional resources and time availability). The results identified both attitudinal and control beliefs as the main determinants of teacher intentions to teach MPS. These findings highlight the key beliefs to target in developing the capacity of schools to support mathematics teachers’ willingness to implement curriculum reform imperatives.
Highlights
Since the 1970s, there has been considerable global interest in shaping the focus of school mathematics away from more traditional approaches (Pampaka, 2014) towards what is commonly called ‘developing mathematical power’, emphasising reasoning, investigation and problem solving, and communication of mathematics to others (National Research Council, 2001)
The R-squared value confirmed that the three psychosocial factors collectively explained a significant variance (80%) in teachers’ intention to teach mathematical problem solving (MPS)
Subjective norm had no statistically significant effect on intention, suggesting that the influence of perceived social pressure was overshadowed by the other factors
Summary
Since the 1970s, there has been considerable global interest in shaping the focus of school mathematics away from more traditional approaches (Pampaka, 2014) towards what is commonly called ‘developing mathematical power’, emphasising reasoning, investigation and problem solving, and communication of mathematics to others (National Research Council, 2001). Developments in the UK and USA (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate, 1985; NCTM, 1980) recommended problem solving, contextualised and based on practical experience, as the focus of school mathematics. Many mathematics educators have since argued that problem solving is a very important, if not the most important, goal of mathematics instruction at every level (Anderson, 2009). Despite this global imperative, it was not until 2007 that the education authorities in Ghana launched a new national curriculum, highlighting the need to develop pupils’ capacity to apply.
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