Teachers' beliefs and practices in teaching mathematics in remote aboriginal schools

Abstract

The most critical factor in the provision of quality learning is the teacher (Hayes, Mills, Christie, & Lingard, Teachers and schooling: Making a difference. Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, 2006). In the remote Aboriginal schools of the Kimberley, many of the teachers are new or recent graduates. These teachers are generally vibrant and enthusiastic, but they often lack experience and are unfamiliar with the demands and issues of teaching in remote and Indigenous contexts. In our project we found that these teachers had beliefs about pedagogy and mathematics education that were commonly positive and desirable, but they did not regularly demonstrate these beliefs in their classroom practice. Rather than seeing this discrepancy as problematic, we viewed their beliefs as aspirational, and as such they provided the impetus for development and pedagogical reform. Indeed, the data suggest that as the project progressed, the teachers were more able to put into practice some of their espoused educational beliefs.