Assessing attitudes toward mathematics across teacher education contexts

This article reports on the development of attitudes toward mathematics among pre-service elementary teachers (n = 146) in relation to their experiences as K-12 learners of mathematics and experiences within a teacher education program. Using a combination of the Rasch Rating Scale Model and traditional parametric analyses, results indicate that significant changes in attitudes occurred over the duration of mathematics methods coursework and student teaching. Further, these changes can be explained, in part, by various teacher education experiences. In particular, having a student teaching experience with meaningful mathematics instruction played a significant role for those who entered with negative attitudes toward mathematics.