The Effect of Methods of Teaching Mathematics Course on Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs of Elementary Pre-service Mathematics Teachers

Teaching efficacy beliefs have been the focus of teacher education studies for some decades as one of the most important factors affecting teachers’ behaviours, attitudes and effectiveness. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the effect of methods of teaching mathematics course on the elementary pre-service mathematics teachers’ mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs in Turkey. Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument was administered to 172 junior elementary mathematics education students as pre-test and post-test prior to and after the methods of teaching mathematics course. The course was carried out through demonstrations, direct instructions and classroom discussions during 14 weeks. Paired sample t-tests were used to analyze the data and indicated that the methods of teaching mathematics course significantly increased the pre-service teachers’ mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs.