Teachers’ Beliefs Systems Referring to the Teaching and Learning of Arithmetic

Abstract

In this paper, we want to discuss the structure of teachers’ belief systems. Firstly, we discuss teachers’ belief systems from a theoretical perspective including characteristics of beliefs systems like its cluster structure, the central- ity of beliefs or the hierarchy of beliefs. Afterwards, we analyse the beliefs of one primary teacher emphasis- ing particularly the structural aspects of this teacher’s system of beliefs concerning the teaching and learning of arithmetic. Finally, we discuss potential benefits of investigating a belief system in detail. We conclude the paper with a brief summary and suggestions for further research. Keywords: