Preparing high quality mathematics primary teachers: Exploring program strategies and standards in the United States, Russia, Poland, and Chinese Taipei

Abstract

Preparing high-quality mathematics primary teachers is a priority of teacher education programs as they seek to fulfill professional standards. Programs have used a number of strategies to achieve these goals including developing criteria for program admission and graduation, and regulating future teachers' opportunities to learn during their program and field experiences as they prepare to enter the classroom. Using data from the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M), this chapter presents an investigation of the relationship between program outcomes as indicated by an assessment of mathematics content knowledge and mathematics pedagogy knowledge, and program standards as reported by program administrators. Factor analyses were used to create indices of program standards in key areas of emphasis. Linear regression models were estimated for four countries, including the United States, Russia, Poland, and Chinese Taipei. Our findings show that program selectivity is the most important strategy related to program outcomes in the Russian and U.S. programs. In addition to entry and exit criteria regulations, standards regulating opportunities to learn while in the program and during field experiences were related to program outcomes in Chinese Taipei and Poland.