Strengthening the conceptualization of mathematics pedagogical content knowledge for international studies

Periodical
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
Volume
11
Year
2013
Issue number
4
Page range
923–947
Relates to study/studies
TEDS-M 2008

Strengthening the conceptualization of mathematics pedagogical content knowledge for international studies

A Taiwanese perspective

Abstract

This paper discusses different conceptual frameworks for measuring mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) in international comparison studies. Two large-scale international comparative studies, Mathematics Teaching in the Twenty-First Century (MT21; Schmidt et al., 2011) and the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M; Tatto et al., 2012), were used for analysis. The challenges faced by these studies included the lack of elaborate conceptual frameworks for MPCK developed by non-Western scholars and the corresponding test items that were tied to the frameworks. In this paper, I introduce a conceptual framework developed by Hsieh (Secondary Education, 63(3), 30–47, (2012) in Taiwan relating to MPCK. The items of the 2 international comparison studies were reexamined according to Hsieh’s model. A study based on Hsieh’s model is introduced to manifest the existence of distinct or probably conflicting ideas between Taiwanese and Western countries regarding the scope and substance of different types of mathematics teachers’ knowledge. Hsieh’s model is a start toward searching for an East Asian identity in MPCK.