Abstract
Emotions play an essential role in pre-service teachers’ competence development, particularly in mathematics. However, the emotion of shame in mathematics has been largely neglected so far. This article deals with shameful experiences of pre-service primary school teachers during their mathematical education at school and the various effects of shame on their decision to study mathematics as a subject at university. The research consists of a qualitative and a quantitative study with 311 prospective primary school teachers who responded to a survey about their experiences of shame in mathematics at school when they were students. Results of the qualitative study emphasize the different experiences in mathematics during the school years and reveal the characteristics of these situations, for example, social exposure or competition games. In the quantitative study, pre-service primary teachers’ subject choice was analyzed in relation to their experienced shame in mathematics at school. Results reveal that shame experienced at school has effects on the initial choice in favor of mathematics at university. Implications for primary teacher education are finally discussed.
Highlights
Research on pre-service teachers’ emotions has received rising interest over the last decades (Coppola et al, 2013; Hannula, 2012)
In the qualitative part of the study, pre-service primary school teachers were asked for situations that they subjectively experienced as shameful
Our results show that all the pre-service primary teachers in our sample reported shameful experiences in mathematics during their schooling time, either as observers or as directly involved persons and that these shame-eliciting situations cover many different characteristics
Summary
Research on pre-service teachers’ emotions has received rising interest over the last decades (Coppola et al, 2013; Hannula, 2012). For the significance of shame in educational contexts, both the population of pre-service primary school teachers and the subject of mathematics seem to be relevant (Bibby, 2002). Panagi (2013) assumed that shame-inducing situations in mathematics during school education are highly relevant for the professionalization of pre-service teachers, as they may influence choosing or avoiding mathematics as a subject in teacher education for primary school. This aspect has not been examined so far.
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