Teachers’ perceptions about mathematics in a socio-religious context: A case from Pakistan

Munira Amirali; Anjum Halai

doi:10.29333/ejmste/11434

Full Text (PDF)

Munira Amirali ¹ ^* , Anjum Halai ¹

More Detail

¹ Aga Khan University, PAKISTAN^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study investigated mathematics teachers’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics and the contributory factors shaping them. A survey of 200 trained and untrained mathematics teachers from public and private schools was carried out in Karachi Pakistan, a context with a strong influence of religion on the socio-cultural practices of the people. The survey was followed by a focus-group discussion with selected teachers and is the focus of this paper. This is a ground-breaking study in a hitherto under-researched socio-religious context.
Teachers across the system showed a strong similarity in beliefs. A commonly held view was that mathematics is created by Allah and mathematicians have worked with this knowledge to invent practical applications in service of religion. Teachers’ experiences of learning mathematics and their deep-rooted religious beliefs shaped their views of mathematics. The study highlights the sensitive and resilient nature of teachers’ beliefs and the significance of taking them into account in reforming teacher education policy and practice.

Keywords

nature of mathematics
mathematics teachers’ beliefs
socio-religious context
Pakistan

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 17, Issue 12, December 2021, Article No: em2059

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11434

Publication date: 20 Dec 2021

Article Views: 1965

Article Downloads: 1075

Open Access Disclosures References How to cite this article

Disclosure

Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings and conclusions are available upon request from the corresponding author(s).

References

Amirali, M. (2000). Enabling mathematics teacher to teach for conceptual understanding [Unpublished master's thesis]. Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, Pakistan.
Amirali, M. (2011). Investigating mathematics teachers’ knowledge about mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning in schools in Pakistan [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, Pakistan.
Amirali, M., & Halai, A. (2010). Teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics: A survey of secondary school teachers in Karachi, Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research December, 32(2), 45-61.
Ball, D. L. (1988). Unlearning to teach mathematics. For the Learning of Mathematics, 8(1), 40-48.
Barkatsas, A. N. (2008). Mathematics teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning: An investigation of factors that influence these beliefs. VDM-Verlag.
Barlow, A. T., & Reddish, J. M. (2006). Mathematical myths: Teacher candidates’ beliefs and the implications for teacher educators. The Teacher Educator, 41(3), 145-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730609555380
Byl, J. (2007). Matter, mathematics, and God. Theology and Science, 5(1), 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700601159598
Calleja, J. (2021). Changes in mathematics teachers’ self-reported beliefs and practices over the course of a blended continuing professional development programme. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-021-00366-x
Chan, Y. C., & Wong, N. Y. (2016). A multiple case study of teachers referring to their own religious beliefs in mathematics teaching. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 21(3-4), 243-255. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2016.1251398
Dossey, J. A. (1992). The nature of mathematics: Its role and its influence. In D. A. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 39-48). Macmillan.
Durrani, N., & Halai, A. (2020). Gender equality, education, and development: Tensions between global, national, and local policy discourses in postcolonial contexts. In Grading goal four (pp. 65-95). Brill Sense. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004430365_003
Ernest, P. (1988). The impact of beliefs on the teaching of mathematics [Paper presentation]. Sixth International Congress of Mathematics Education, Budapest, July 27 - August 4, 1988.
Ernest, P. (1991). The philosophy of mathematics education. The Falmer Press.
Field, A. (2005). Discovering statistics using SPSS for windows: Advance technique for beginner (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Finch, H., & Lewis, J. (2003). Focus groups. In J. Ritchie & J. Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers (pp. 47-76). SAGE Publications.
Gates, P. (2006). Going beyond belief system: Exploring a model for the social influence on mathematics teacher beliefs. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 63, 347-369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-005-9007-z
Government of Pakistan: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics: (2021). https://www.pbs.gov.pk/
Halai A., & Durrani N. (2020) School Education System in Pakistan. In P. Sarangapani & R. Pappu (Eds.), Handbook of Education Systems in South Asia. Global Education Systems. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3309-5_17-1
Halai, A. & Durrani, N. (2017). Teachers as agents of peace? Exploring teacher agency in social cohesion in Pakistan. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 48(4), 535-552. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2017.1322491
Halai, A. (2001). Role of social interaction in students’ learning of mathematics (in classroom in Pakistan). (Doctoral dissertation). University of Oxford, UK.
Halai, A. (2011). Equality or equity: Gender awareness issues in secondary schools in Pakistan. International Journal of Educational Development, 3(1), 44-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2010.06.012
Halai, A. (2017). Classroom as a site for teacher learning: Emergence of a paradigm shift in mathematics teacher education in Pakistan. In Professional development of mathematics teachers (pp. 159-168). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2598-3_12
Halai, A., Rizvi, N. F., & Rodrigues, S. (2007). Mathematics and science education in Pakistan: A review. https://www.edqual.org/publications/workingpaper/edqualwp6.pdf/at_download/file.pdf
Halai, N. (2008). Curriculum reform in science education in Pakistan. In R. K. Coll & N. Taylor (Eds.), Science education in context: An international examination of the influences of context on science curricular development and implementation (pp. 115-129). Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789087902490_011
Hatisaru, V. (2018). Teachers’ beliefs about knowledge of teaching and their impact on teaching practices. In B. Rott, G. Törner, J. Peters-Dasdemir, A. Möller, & Safrudiannur (Eds.), Views and beliefs in mathematics education (pp. 147-159). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01273-1_14
Higher Education Commission (HEC, 2012). Curriculum of education. Islamabad https://hec.gov.pk/english/services/universities/RevisedCurricula/Documents/2011-2012/Education/Education-2012-Element.pdf
Irzik, G. (1998). Philosophy of science and radical intellectual Islam in Turkey. In W. W. Cobern (Ed.), Socio-cultural perspectives in science education (pp. 163-179). Kluwer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5224-2_9
Jaworski, B. (1996). Investigating mathematics teaching: A constructivist enquiry. The Falmer Press.
Kukari, A. J. (2004). Cultural and religious experiences: Do they define teaching and leaning for pre-service teachers prior to teacher education? Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 32(2), 95-110. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866042000234205
Lakatos, I. (1976). Proof and refutation. Cambridge University Press.
Lawrence, S. (2015). Introduction. In S. Lawrence, & M. McCartney (Eds.), Mathematicians and their Gods ‒ Interactions between mathematics and religious beliefs, (pp. 1-21). Oxford University Press.
Leathem, K. R. (2006). Viewing mathematics teachers’ beliefs as sensible systems. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 9, 91-102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-006-9006-8
Lerman, S. (1990). Alternative perspectives of the nature of mathematics and their influence on the teaching of mathematics. British Educational Research Journal, 16(1), 53-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192900160105
Leu, Y. C., Chan, Y. C., & Wong, N. Y. (2015). The relationships between religious beliefs and teaching among mathematics teachers in Chinese Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In L. Fan, N.-Y. Wong, J. Cai, & S. Li (Eds.), How Chinese teach mathematics: Perspectives from insiders, (pp. 653-701). World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814415828_0021
Llyod, G. (2002). Mathematics teachers’ beliefs and experiences with innovative curriculum materials: The role of curriculum in teacher development. In G. C. Leder, E. Pehkonen, & G. Torner (Eds.), Beliefs: A hidden variable in mathematics education? (pp. 149-160). Kluwer Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47958-3_9
Mansour, N. (2008). The experiences and personal religious beliefs of Egyptian science teachers as a framework for understanding the shaping and reshaping of their beliefs and practices about Science-Technology- Society (STS). International Journal of Science Education, 30(12), 1605-1634. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690701463303
NEMIS-AEPAM. (2018). Pakistan Education Statistics 2013-14. National Education Management Information System, Academy of Educational Planning and Management, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Government of Pakistan. http://library.aepam.edu.pk/Books/Pakistan%20Education%20Statistics%202017-18.pdf
Norton, A. (2000a). Mathematicians’ religious affiliations and professional practices: The case of Joseph. The Mathematics Educator, 12(1), 17-23.
Norton, A. (2000b). Mathematicians’ religious affiliations and professional practices: The case of Charles. The Mathematics Educator, 12(2), 28-33.
Norton, A. (2003). Mathematicians’ religious affiliations and professional practices: The case of Bo. The Mathematics Educator, 13(1), 41-45.
Pardhan, A. (2009). Women kindergarten teachers in Pakistan: Their lives, their classroom practice [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Canada.
Phelps-Gregory, C. M., Frank, M., & Spitzer, S. M. (2020). Prospective elementary teachers’ beliefs about mathematical myths: A historical and qualitative examination. The Teacher Educator, 55(1), 6-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2019.1618423
Restivo, S. (2017). Sociology, science, and the end of Philosophy: How society shapes brains, Gods, maths, and logics. Palgrave Macmillan.
Saadati, F., Cerda, G., Giaconi, V., Reyes, C., & Felmer, P. (2019). Modelling Chilean mathematics teachers’ instructional beliefs on problem-solving practices. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 17(5), 1009-1029. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-018-9897-8
Schoenfeld, A. H. (1992). Learning to think mathematically: Problem solving, metacognition, and sense-making in mathematics. In D. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook for research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 334-370). MacMillan.
Single National Curriculum - Mathematics Grades I-V (2020). http://www.mofept.gov.pk/SiteImage/Misc/files/SNC%20Mathematics%201-5.pdf
Talbani, A., (1996). Pedagogy, power, and discourse: Transformation of Islamic education. Comparative Education Review, 40(1), 66-83. https://doi.org/10.1086/447356
Thompson, A.G. (1984). The relationship of teachers’ conceptions of mathematics and mathematics teaching to instructional practice. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 15(2), 105-127. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00305892
Warwick, D. P., & Reimers, F. (1995). Hope or despair? Learning in Pakistan’s primary schools. Westport, Connecticut.

How to cite this article

APA

Amirali, M., & Halai, A. (2021). Teachers’ perceptions about mathematics in a socio-religious context: A case from Pakistan. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(12), em2059. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11434

Vancouver

Amirali M, Halai A. Teachers’ perceptions about mathematics in a socio-religious context: A case from Pakistan. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(12):em2059. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11434

AMA

Amirali M, Halai A. Teachers’ perceptions about mathematics in a socio-religious context: A case from Pakistan. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(12), em2059. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11434

Chicago

Amirali, Munira, and Anjum Halai. "Teachers’ perceptions about mathematics in a socio-religious context: A case from Pakistan". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2021 17 no. 12 (2021): em2059. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11434

Harvard

Amirali, M., and Halai, A. (2021). Teachers’ perceptions about mathematics in a socio-religious context: A case from Pakistan. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(12), em2059. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11434

MLA

Amirali, Munira et al. "Teachers’ perceptions about mathematics in a socio-religious context: A case from Pakistan". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 17, no. 12, 2021, em2059. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11434