Novice Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Learning

This book investigates three novice high school mathematics teachers’ professional learning processes in the early stages of their careers at schools in Shanghai, China. Teacher professional learning is examined as a complex and dynamic system that connects both cognitive and situated perspectives on learning theory. Inspiring mathematics teachers to adopt student-focused pedagogies is challenging, particularly in China where tensions in teacher-centred, content-focused and examination-oriented practices are predominant. The three novice teachers who participated in this study brought different beliefs and knowledge derived from their different individual experiences to bear on their teaching practices. However, they were strongly influenced by the environments in which they taught and mainly adopted a professional learning approach to teacher-centred practices, despite reporting that they favoured student-centred teaching practices. The study also observed professional learning towards student-centred pedagogical aspects in a single teacher case with mentorship support, indicating that student-centred pedagogies may be promoted within the constraints of the existing dominant teaching practice.