Teachers' belief toward science and local wisdom's integration in mathematics instruction

Abstract

Teacher beliefs affect classroom management. It has caught the attention of many researchers, but few have discussed teacher beliefs in the integration of Science and local wisdom in the teaching of Mathematics. This integration is needed to give students the relevance of learning a subject matter. This study tried to find out the teacher's beliefs in integrating Science and local wisdom in Mathematics instruction and the inhibiting factors that teachers faced. This research was conducted through a qualitative approach, involving four teachers with different teaching experiences. Data was gathered through in-depth interviews and analysed through Miles and Huberman concept. All participants believed that the integration of science and local wisdom in mathematics instruction had a role in constructing students' view toward mathematics, but only one participant was able to provide a unique example of the application of science integration and local wisdom in teaching mathematics. The biggest obstacles were experienced by all participants when integrating local wisdom in mathematical instruction due to their lack of knowledge of local wisdom and way to integrate it. Further research is needed to strive to strengthen teachers believe in this integration. Moreover, discussions between subject teachers need to be focused on integration so that the teacher's insight, especially about local wisdom, can be wide open.