ERIC Number: EJ1407120
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1571-0068
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1774
Available Date: N/A
Teachers' Knowledge of Fractions, Ratios, and Proportional Relationships: The Relationship between Two Theoretically Connected Content Areas
John Ezaki; Jingxian Li; Yasemin Copur-Gencturk
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, v22 n2 p235-255 2024
Teachers' knowledge of the subject matter is considered an important component of their expertise in teaching mathematics. Yet how teachers' understanding of one content area is related to other content areas has not been investigated in depth. We explored this question by investigating teachers' knowledge of two theoretically related areas: (1) fractions and (2) ratios and proportional relationships. We also investigated the extent to which teachers' educational backgrounds are related to their understanding of these concepts. Based on the results obtained from structural equation modeling and path analysis, we found that teachers' knowledge of these two concepts is highly interdependent, forming a single construct. Furthermore, holding a credential in teaching mathematics, the route teachers took to enter teaching, and their undergraduate majors were associated with their knowledge of these concepts. This study illustrates the importance of attending to the theoretical relationships among different content areas when assessing teachers' subject matter knowledge and provides initial evidence that teachers' subject matter knowledge may be unidimensional for theoretically related domains.
Descriptors: Fractions, Mathematics Instruction, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Statistics, Educational Background, Misconceptions, Mathematical Concepts, Teacher Certification, Statistics Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1751309
Author Affiliations: N/A