Original scientific paper
The Preparedness of Future Primary School Teachers for Teaching Additional Mathematics Class
Irena Mišurac-Zorica
orcid.org/0000-0002-7197-1782
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Eliza Rožić
Abstract
This paper theoretically and empirically explores the preparedness of future primary school teachers for teaching the Additional Mathematics Class. Proper education is a key factor in the development of high quality teachers capable of teaching the Additional Mathematics Class. The aim of this study was to determine to which extent Teacher Education students possess the required competences for teaching this class. The research was conducted among 129 fourth and fifth year Teacher Education students at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split. Respondents were asked to anonymously fill out a survey that examined the objective characteristics of the tested group (average mark in Mathematics during the various stages of their education and the type of high school they graduated from), subjective evaluation (knowledge of Mathematics, the ability to teach Mathematics, and attitude towards Mathematics) and success in solving Additional Mathematics’ tasks. The results show that future primary school teachers are not sufficiently prepared to perform the teaching of Additional Mathematics Class. Only a fifth of respondents successfully completed at least one of the tasks. Students who have successfully solved tasks, as it was expected, have more highly evaluated their mathematical knowledge and skills. The negative attitudes towards Mathematics the students had before they started with their college education do not sufficiently change during their studies.
Keywords
primary school; Additional Mathematics Class; giftedness; creativity; motivation; mathematics competitions; future primary school teachers
Hrčak ID:
154576
URI
Publication date:
15.3.2016.
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