A study of students’ mathematical identity was carried out in February 2009 involving participants from two colleges of education, one in Dublin (Republic of Ireland) and one in Belfast (Northern Ireland). All participants were pre-service primary school teachers in the third year of their B.Ed. programme, having chosen to specialize in mathematics. Data was gathered using a questionnaire (with, mainly, open-ended questions) followed by focus groups, involving the same participants, on each campus. This paper considers how students’ exploration of their mathematical identity led them to deepen their insight into learning and teaching mathematics. Recommendations are made for how the methods used in this research might be beneficial on a larger scale, in different environments.

The widespread use of Dynamic Geometry Software (DGS) is raising many interesting questions and discussions as to the necessity, usefulness and meaning of proof in school mathematics. With these questions in mind, a didactical sequence on the topic “Conics” was developed in a teacher education course tailored for pre-service secondary math methods course. The idea of the didactical sequence is to introduce “Conics” using a concrete manipulative approach (paper folding) then an explorative DGS-based construction activity embedding the need for a proof. For that purpose, the DGS software serves as an intermediary tool, used to bridge the gap between the physical model and the formal symbolic system of proof. The paper will present an analysis of participants’ geometric thinking strategies, featuring proof as an embedded process in geometric construction situations.

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A local college in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates began a Bachelor of Education program in 2008 to train prospective teachers to deliver a bi-literate education in Arabic and English to students in Abu Dhabi schools. Because there had been no examination of preservice teachers' perceptions of their practicum experience, a project study was designed to analyze the perceptions of a group of preservice teachers regarding the final practicum and whether that experience enhanced their ability to deliver educational practices to better serve students. This phenomenological study was guided by experiential learning theory, as preservice teachers learned from their experiences in a professional setting. The research questions addressed preservice teachers' experiences during the practicum and how those experiences contributed to their professional growth. Individual face-to-face interviews of 8 preservice teachers were the means of data collection. Transcripts of audio recorded interviews were coded to determine themes related to the practicum experience. The data revealed that preservice teachers felt that the practicum allowed them to experience the role of the classroom teacher and its day-to-day challenges. Based on the research findings, a project is proposed to assist preservice teachers in assessing students' needs, identifying instructional classroom practices, and planning lessons. Implementation of the project could lead to positive social change by engaging preservice teachers in professional development centered on professional learning communities. This engagement would encourage collaboration with professionals to develop lesson plans to reach all learners. This project has the potential to contribute to preservice teachers' professional growth, which may lead to continuous learning in their professional learning environment.

At the time of this study, there is intensified awareness of the importance of special education and the appropriate implementation of supports and services for the students identified as having special needs. In the United States, understanding special education laws, the needs of students with special needs who are served in the school building, and effective ways to interact with staff members and families about special education are important components of principal leadership success. Principal supervisors and others who provide training and ongoing professional development for principals and potential school leaders need to understand more about issues principals face in these expanding roles. This phenomenological study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of principals regarding their experiences and perceptions related to their levels of preparation for special education leadership. The conceptual framework based upon Bandura's social learning theory presented the principal as the role model for teachers and the leader in building relationships with families and supporting student success. Ten principals from K-12 schools were interviewed in person and on the phone. A priori and open coding were used to support interpretive analysis. Principals reported three main areas of concern related to their expanded role: knowing how to work with parents, responding to citations their district received due to not following laws, and learning how to handle challenging situations better. These results suggest that having more preparation and continuing training in the area of special education might contribute to principals' greater understanding of best practices, policies, and procedures.

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<p> </p> <p>Issues of social justice continue to permeate all aspects of life in the United States. Acknowledging recent calls for racial justice, as well as efforts to restrict what is taught in mathematics classrooms, researchers and practitioners are increasingly exploring the promises of teaching mathematics for social justice in secondary mathematics classrooms. This dissertation contributes to research about how a social justice mathematics course can be utilized in teacher education programs to support prospective mathematics teachers’ (PMTs’) development of their mathematics identities, as well as how PMTs translate social justice mathematics theory into</p> <p>practice with their secondary mathematics students. This research complexifies the role of primarily white mathematics teachers and teacher educators working toward teaching</p> <p>mathematics for social justice by foregrounding some of the ways in which social justice mathematics curricula and instruction may continue to center whiteness. </p> <p><br></p> <p>This dissertation includes three studies focused on the design and delivery of a social justice mathematics course offered to undergraduate students, as well as the learning outcomes</p> <p>for 11 PMTs enrolled in the first iteration. As such, each study is formatted for submission to a research journal and contains its own questions, methods, findings, discussion, and conclusion. </p> <p><br></p> <p>The first and second studies detail the experiences of PMTs in a social justice mathematics course. In the first study, I explored how engaging in such a course contributed to PMTs’ mathematics identities. Findings in this case study suggest that sustained engagement with social justice mathematics can contribute to PMTs’ conceptions of mathematics and encourage them to address issues of social justice in their mathematics classrooms. Building on this, three of the PMTs enrolled in the course and I engaged in a critical participatory action research study to investigate their experiences working toward teaching mathematics for social justice in their secondary mathematics field placements. Prior to engaging their students with social justice mathematics tasks, the PMTs focused on developing relationships and trust with students and also maintained a commitment to engaging students with dominant mathematics. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Informed by a finding in the first study (i.e., PMTs continued to view mathematics as objective and neutral), in the third study, I investigated the prominence of whiteness in the development and facilitation of the course. Using action research and critical whiteness studies, I detail areas in which I perpetuated whiteness, as well as areas in which I began to make progress.</p>

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