Examining Indonesian Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs on the Nature of Mathematics

Abstract

Introduction. Beliefs about the nature of mathematics influence a teacherʼs mindset and, as a result, the way he or she teaches in the classroom. Several studies have been conducted in this area, but they have rarely focused on pre-service teachers. The implication is that the instruments used to measure these beliefs must be modified. This study aims to refine and validate a scale to measure pre-service teachersʼ beliefs about the nature of mathematics and to determine the demographic analysis results that influence these beliefs. Materials and Methods. A scale development study was adopted to achieve the objectives of this study. The participants were 410 pre-service teachers from undergraduate programs at one University with A (excellent) accreditation in the capital city of Indonesia. We used factor analysis to obtain a valid and reliable instrument. We also used multiple regression analysis to look at the relationships between pre-service teachersʼ gender, academic major, academic level, and mathematical beliefs. Results. This study established a valid and reliable scale that includes three factors that underlie beliefs about the nature of mathematics. One factor is related to the philosophy of traditional mathematics, namely objective, and the other two factors are related to the philosophy of constructivism mathematics, namely relevant and dynamic. Additionally, we discover that the impact of the academic major variable is more significant than the influence of the other variables (gender and academic level). Discussion and Conclusion. Beliefs about the nature of mathematics are central to the professional development of mathematics teachers because these beliefs have an implicit impact or are related to the beliefs, views, conceptions, or attitudes of teachers about teaching and learning mathematics and, in turn, lead to choices and practices carried out in class. Therefore, the beliefs scale developed in our research will allow researchers and/or interested parties to know the extent to which teachersʼ subjective knowledge of mathematics is used to improve these beliefs and lead to more meaningful mathematics practices.

Keywords

• nature of mathematics
• philosophy of mathematics education
• scale development
• demographic analysis
• regression models