A socio-cultural perspective on the first year of teaching secondary mathematics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of a group of four beginning secondary mathematics teachers in their first year of teaching. Each teacher was interviewed individually for approximately 30 minutes in the middle of the school year. The interview responses were analysed in terms of the participants’ views of themselves as teachers and the factors which they identified as influencing their classroom practices. The study indicates that the culture of the school and the practices of more experienced teachers were important factors in the beginning teachers’ perception of themselves as effective teachers.8 page(s