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Oulun yliopiston väitöskirjat

FROM MEMORIES OF THE PAST TO ANTICIPATIONS OF THE FUTURE, ACTA UNIVERSITATIS OULUENSIS E Scientiae Rerum Socialium 144

ISBN-13:	978-952-62-0553-3
Kieli:	englanti
Kustantaja:	Oulun yliopisto
Oppiaine:	Kasvatus, opetus
Painosvuosi:	2014
Sijainti:	Print Tietotalo
Sivumäärä:	273
Tekijät:	LUTOVAC SONJA

25.00 €

This study explored mathematical identity work by drawing on the cases of Finnish and Slovenianpre-service elementary teachers. All cases reported having had negative experiences withmathematics during their school years. These experiences were shown to have a central meaningfor pre-service teachers’ mathematical identities. However, identity also extends to the future. Forthis reason, pre-service teachers’ anticipations of the future were also explored. The concepts ofnarrative identity (Ricoeur, 1992) and possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1989) were applied inthe context of mathematics education. The overall narrative perspective of the study enabled apsycho-social understanding of identity. The special interest of the study was confined to anunderstanding of the role that educational contexts play in pre-service teachers’ mathematicalidentity work.Narrative inquiry was applied as a research methodology. In-depth interviews invited pre-service teachers to construct narratives of their mathematics-related experiences. These narrativeswere analysed holistically and categorically, as well as in terms of content and form.The findings showed striking similarities in pre-service teachers’ school-time memories. Thecases in question felt like victims of their own mathematical experiences. The anticipations ofmathematics teaching were also underlined by the challenges rooted in their school-timeexperiences. However, a surprising finding was that the identity work in which the Finnish andSlovenian cases engaged during their teacher education differed substantially. The main reasonsfor the differences in identity work seemed to stem from different emphases and pedagogicalpractices in mathematics education courses within the Finnish and Slovenian teacher educationsettings. The study argued that identity work can be facilitated during teacher education. To begin sucha process, it would be central to focus on pre-service teachers’ biographical context throughnarrative pedagogical tools. The findings also showed that neglecting issues from school-timeexperiences might engender further challenges for pre-service teachers’ future mathematicsteaching. Finally, the study argued for the need to openly address identity during teachereducation. The significant theoretical contribution of the study is the conceptualisation of‘mathematical identity work’.

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