Conditions Influencing Content Taught in Nine Fourth-Grade Mathematics Classrooms

This article presents a theoretical analysis of how such class conditions as textbook organization and content, compositional characteristics of classes, instructional time, and teachers' beliefs influence the mathematics content that teachers introduce. Propositions concerning the relations among these conditions were examined in light of evidence from detailed case studies undertaken in 9 fourth-grade classes. Although textbook characteristics, class composition, and teacher beliefs were related to the amount and order in which content was presented, instructional time was not. Implications for further study of teacher decision making, textbook content and organization, and the use of instructional time are discussed.