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Australian primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning
Livy, Sharyn Muir, Tracey Trakulphadetkrai, Natthapoj Vincent Larkin, Kevin
Livy, Sharyn
Muir, Tracey
Trakulphadetkrai, Natthapoj Vincent
Larkin, Kevin
Abstract
This qualitative survey study set out to investigate in-service and pre-service primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to and enablers for the integration of children’s literature in mathematics teaching and learning in an Australian educational context. While research over the past three decades have documented pedagogical benefits of teaching mathematics using children’s literature, research into teachers’ perceptions regarding the use of such resources is virtually non-existent. The study thus filled this research gap by drawing responses from open-ended survey questions of 94 in-service and 82 pre-service teachers in Australia. A thematic analysis revealed 13 perceived barriers classified under five themes with Lack of Pedagogical Knowledge and Confidence, and Time Constraint, representing 75% of all perceived barriers. Moreover, 14 perceived enablers were identified and classified under five themes with Pedagogical Benefits and Love of Stories representing around 70% of all perceived enablers. Findings also showed that most of the teachers in the study (around 75%) never or infrequently used children’s literature in their mathematics classrooms. The study highlights the role of professional learning and teacher training in ensuring that both in- and pre-service teachers have the necessary pedagogical knowledge, experience and confidence in using children’s literature to enrich their mathematics teaching.
Keywords
children’s literature, story picture books, mathematics learning and teaching, teachers’ perceptions, mathematics teacher education
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education
Book
Volume
26
Issue
1
Page Range
5-26
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open