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The Mathematical Knowledge of Elementary School Teachers: A Comparative Perspective  

Wong, Ngai-Ying (Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Rowland, Tim (Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge)
Chan, Wing-Sum (Department of Mathematics and Information Technology, Hong Kong Institute of Education)
Cheung, Ka-Luen (Department of Mathematics and Information Technology, Hong Kong Institute of Education)
Han, Ngai-Sze (Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority)
Publication Information
Research in Mathematical Education / v.14, no.2, 2010 , pp. 173-194 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study examines the differences and similarities of mathematics teachers' subject matter knowledge among England, the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. Data were collected from a ten-item test in the SKIMA subject matter audit instrument [Rowland, T.; Martyn, S.; Barber, P. & Heal, C. (2000). Primary teacher trainees' mathematics subject knowledge and classroom performance. In: T. Rowland & C. Morgan (eds.), Research in Mathematics Education, Volume 2 (pp.3-18). ME 2000e.03066] from over 500 participants. Results showed that participants from England performed consistently better, with those from Hong Kong being next and then followed by those from the Chinese mainland. The qualitative data revealed that participants from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland were fluent in applying routines to solve problems, but had some difficulties in offering explanations or justifications.
Keywords
subject matter knowledge; pedagogical content knowledge; teacher education; cross-cultural comparison; the Chinese learner;
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