Educating New Mathematics Teachers: Integrating Theory and Practice, and the Roles of Practising Teachers

Abstract

This chapter addresses issues of integration of theory and practice in the education of new mathematics teachers and tries to achieve an appropriate blend of theory and practice in its approach. Thus, it begins with an episode from practice, proposes a set of theoretical models of ‘integration’, situates these models in examples from teacher education around the world and follows with a discussion of theoretical issues and the associated literature. A case study from a current programme of initial teacher education in the UK follows, where issues of integration are re-addressed from a practical perspective. We end with a short review of the status quo as we see it currently in terms of relationships between those involved in the educational process.