Conceptualizing Belief Structures of Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers

This is a study of the beliefs and belief structures of 4 preservice secondary mathematics teachers as they progressed through a 4-quarter sequence in mathematics education including student teaching. We considered the notions of centrally and peripherally held beliefs and whether beliefs were held dualistically or contextually. The various ways in which the teachers structured their beliefs helped account for the fact that some beliefs were permeable whereas others were not. The nature of the evidence supporting the teachers' beliefs was considered particularly as that evidence related to the voices of significant others or to what the individuals valued. A scheme for conceptualizing the professional development of preservice teachers is posited.