Considering mathematics educators’ perceptions of professionalism in rural contexts

ABSTRACT

Developing teachers’ professionalism is important to developing the internal capacity of schools in rural and remote areas. This study investigated rural mathematics educators’ (n = 677) perceptions of professionalism to better understand how to provide more focused and relevant support for mathematics teachers in similar rural and remote contexts. A survey was administered to workshop participants and electronically to teachers across the selected state who did not participate in the workshop. The findings indicate that there are some differences in perception related to continuing to develop as professionals for teachers who choose to participate in professional development workshops; they tended to be more aware and supportive of considering pedagogical changes and learning more mathematical content. Additionally, rural teachers tended to view instructional coaching as a luxury and to consider improvements in pedagogical and content knowledge to be not as essential. Implications for practice, including rural practice, are also addressed.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional development
• mathematics teaching
• rural education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Idaho State Department of Education [Grant 075012].

Notes on contributors

Cory A. Bennett

Cory A. Bennett, PhD, is a Professor of Mathematics Education at Idaho State University and is a global consultant specializing in mathematics and STEM education, instructional leadership, curriculum development, and student-centered instruction. His work focuses on developing students’ mathematical discourse, problem solving, creating classroom cultures of reasoning, and developing instructional leaders.

Dr Justin N. Thorpe is the Director of the Teaching Learning Center and is the Senior Instructional Designer at Snow College. He works with all faculty to support their professional growth by fostering scholarship, dialogues, and innovation of teaching techniques and pedagogy-related technology. He received his PhD from Michigan State University in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy. His research focuses on research methodology, improving research writing, and the philosophy of education.

Beverly B. Ray, PhD, is a Professor at Idaho State University. Previously, she taught secondary-level social studies in the United States and has provided technology professional development to teachers in the United States and around the world since 1997. Her areas of research include current and emerging technologies including integration of coding into K–12 instruction, social studies and technology integration, and game-based learning.