Examining the Attitude Change of Pre-Service Elementary School Teachers Towards a Course of Mathematics Education Within the Framework of Theory of Didactical Situations

Abstract

This study investigated whether the training program given within the framework of theTheory of Didactical Situations (TDS) within a mathematics education course could changethe pre-service elementary teachers’ attitudes towards a mathematics education course in an11-week teaching process. In the study, the mixed method was used. The participants were 86pre-service elementary teachers (52 female and 34 male). In the study, the quantitative researchdata were collected using the Attitude Scale for Mathematics Education Courses (ASMEC),and the qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. For the analysis of thequantitative data, paired samples t-test was applied, and for the analysis of the qualitative data,content analysis was conducted. The results revealed that the training program given in linewith TDS created a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scoresof the pre-service elementary school teachers with respect to their attitudes towards courses ofmathematics education (t(85)=-2.22, p=.029) and that there was no statistically significantdifference in terms of gender, though (t(84)=.987, p=.327 and t(84)=1.108, p=.258). It wasfound that the training program given in accordance with TDS had a positive influence onchanging and developing the attitudes of the pre-service elementary teachers towardsmathematics education courses.