Conceptual Framework

There is a degree of consistency of relationship exists between teachers’ beliefs and their teaching practices. The degree of consistency is influenced by some mediating factors such as curriculum, teachers, students, parents, and school setting.

Normally, most teachers hold nontraditional beliefs about mathematics teaching and mathematics learning but employing traditional chalk and talks teaching. This relationship is described as inconsistent.

This degree of consistency can be narrowed either by addressing the mediating factors or by introducing intervening factors such as professional development or teacher education program.

Beliefs-Practice model

Mediating factors

1. Curriculum

Exam oriented curriculum

Teachers are obliged to finish the syllabus. Their goal is to be able to cover syllabus before examinations or monthly tests.

Time factor

Some teachers are given heavy workload which includes teaching period, administrative duties such as school’s bursar, examination coordinator, involvement in other activities or associations. Due to these factors, even to mark books, teachers hardly find time. What more to prepare teaching aids or materials.

2. Teachers

Due to lack of experiences and knowledge using the activities, teachers are not able to incorporate activities in their teaching. They find it difficult to prepare the materials, difficult to find a variety of activities, and cannot decide what the most suitable activities are for each group of students.

Attitude

Some teachers are comfortable with their chalk and talks, and are resistance to change. Changing approach from explain-practice to activity-based means teachers have to anticipate some disturbances such as noisy class and too many movements. Some teachers are not ready to face these disturbances. Some experienced teachers who have been in the teaching ground for more than fifteen years are not keened to upgrade their knowledge with the up to date teaching strategies or techniques such as computing skills.

Experience

A teacher’s’ personal experienced as a student tend to influence the relationship. The way the teacher was taught during his or her school life was then employed by this teacher to teach his or her children. This tradition is passed from generation to generation.

3. Students

Teachers find it difficult to used hands-on activity approach when they have students with negative attitudes towards mathematics. In this situation, the students do not cooperate with the teachers. Furthermore, students’ background is also important. Students’ poor mathematical background or poor command of English language also contributes to this difficulty. Students socioeconomic background also play an important role whereby students do not come to school with complete stationery set or do not bring materials to school as requested by teachers.

4. School Setting

Administrator

Most often principal wants the school to achieve excellent results in examinations. As a result he or she does not encourage teachers to use activities in their lessons because so much time will be wasted.

Big class size

Teachers will find it difficult to manage a big class size, more time will be used up for class control. Teachers are complacent with explain-practice approach whereby teacher explains and students practice. A big class size means there may be not enough materials for each student.

Teaching Resources/ Mathematics room

Sometime the materials need to be used are not available, either teachers or students have to buy in which this is impractical. Some schools are not given mathematics room, as a result, no place to keep the materials. In some cases, teachers who attended a very good workshop, go back to schools cannot implement the knowledge due to unavailable facilities for example software.

In some schools, mathematics rooms are not available for mathematics department. Therefore there are no rooms to keep teaching aids or teaching materials.

5. Parents

Parents want their children to excel in examinations; they want to see good results in their children certificates. So they want their children to learn all the topics and are ready before examination time. Some parents are even making an extra effort by sending their children to tuition schools.

Intervening factors

1. Professional development

Professional development is believed to play a very important role in changing teachers’ practices. However, most often teachers revert to their traditional chalk and talks techniques.

2. Teacher education program

Most teachers acquire knowledge relating teaching skills by attending this program. However, most often, only few teachers really make use this knowledge in their teaching practices.

Therefore, it will be a good starting point for a future study about to what extent the professional development and the teacher education program influence their beliefs and practices.