Critical Moments in Learning Mathematics: First Year Pre-service Primary Teachers' Perspectives

Abstract

Pre-service primary teachers have been identified in several research studies as having poor self-conceptions of themselves as mathematics teachers. Many express feelings of anxiety when faced with mathematics tasks resulting in poor dispositions and understandings. This paper reports on beginning pre-service primary teachers' (N=106) recollections of critical moments in their mathematics education at school. Interestingly, their graphical ratings of their dispositions suggest a slightly positive recollection of their mathematical experiences. In contrast their justifications and recount was generally negative.