From teaching literacy to teaching numeracy: How numeracy teacher’s previous experiences shape their teaching beliefs

Abstract

Beliefs guide teachers’ actions in the classroom and thereby influence what students learn. While this insight has led to numerous studies, particularly in the area of mathematical beliefs, it has been neglected in the growing field of numeracy teaching and learning within adult education. This exploratory study presents five illustrative cases of Swiss adult education teachers and traces their experiences, both as students and teachers. Based on data mainly collected in semi-structured interviews, the author argues that this study supports existing evidence from mathematical belief research in other sectors of education, pointing to the relevance of practice-based experiences for the change of beliefs.