PROFILES OF OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN FOR TEDS-M FUTURE SECONDARY MATHEMATICS TEACHERS

This study used the data set from the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics to identify the profiles of opportunities to learn (OTL) regarding topics studied in teacher preparation programs by future secondary mathematics teachers from 15 participating countries. The topics of inquiry covered tertiary-level mathematics, school-level mathematics, mathematics education, and general education. Dominating OTL profiles across and within countries were identified and compared with those examined by Blömeke & Kaiser (ZDM 44(3):249–264, 2012) at the primary level. Our results show that, for tertiary-level mathematics, the secondary level demands intensive and extensive coverage of topics, whereas the primary level appears to have a two-peak phenomenon compared to the secondary level. The preparation philosophies in mathematics education are homogeneous at both school levels, although the secondary level placed more emphasis on facilitating students’ cognitive understanding and cultivating students’ mathematical abilities. Regarding general education, two philosophies prevailed at the secondary level: (a) comprehensive coverage or (b) only focusing on the OTL that are related to school practice; however, at the primary level, only the first philosophy prevailed.