Are beliefs believable? An investigation of novice mathematics teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices

Abstract

Observing 17 teachers for a total of 116 hours, this paper examined whether a relationship between the beliefs of novice mathematics teachers and their classroom practices exists. A Spearman correlation analysis showed a modest relation between beliefs about the nature of mathematics and about learning mathematics, while the relationship between beliefs about mathematics achievement and these other two components was weak and statistically insignificant. Unexpectedly, the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices has been found to be much different than anticipated, and in some cases, the relationships were even negative. The researchers conclude with a discussion of further implications.