Mathematics Teacher Preparation in Central America and the Caribbean. An Introduction

This chapter provides a summary of the state of Mathematics teacher’s preparation in Central America and the Caribbean based on four papers presented at a workshop of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction: Capacity and Networking Project, held in Costa Rica in August 2012. The countries considered here are Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. First, a description of the conditions of this region in various international comparative tests of Mathematics is established, as a prelude to offer elements of each country about the general structure of their education systems and the main features of their curricula in school Mathematics; then the initial preparation and professional development of teachers are studied. Finally, graduate programs and research in Mathematics Education are analyzed and, to conclude, the main challenges that these countries face in the current scenario are indicated. Throughout all this work, comparative elements between the four countries are given in the dimensions studied.