Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences of Autonomy in Mathematics during Teacher Education

The study examines the experience of autonomy in mathematical learning situations among pre-service primary teachers during their teacher education. The theoretical framework is provided by Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2020) and, in particular, its elaboration on autonomy in learning contexts. The study investigates the extent to which autonomy support by teacher educators and the value attributed to autonomy in mathematical learning situations predict pre-service teachers’ experienced autonomy. It further explores how these three constructs predict the autonomy support that pre-service teachers provide to their pupils during their school internship. To this end, up to 400 pre-service primary teachers are studied longitudinally during their practical semester (T1: before the internship, T2: at the end of the internship). The data are analyzed using Path Analysis or Structural Equation Modeling.