Professional Development of Early Childhood Mentor Teachers in Teaching Math

摘要

Importance of acquisition of early math skills and concepts on future school achievement has been widely acknowledged. Effective early math education takes place only when teachers are donated with necessary teaching competencies and attitudes toward math education. Those competencies are largely acquired during student teaching practices. Mentoring teachers by playing a role model for and supervising student teachers appear to be the most significant actors during this process. This study explores how early childhood mentor teachers define the effectiveness of their own pre- and inservice education in their professional development particularly in regard to math teaching skills and practices. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with the preschool teachers working at the different preservice teacher placement sites. Results showed that the participants generally leaned on the collegial support and mentoring reflecting an almost total disregard for the teacher education courses they received during their undergraduate education. Student teaching received a mix of views whilst inservice trainings that are provided on a regular basis appeared to provide no teacher training on early math.