Early Childhood Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Mathematics: A Research Report From China

• In Event: 65.048 - Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Early Mathematics: Investigations in Three Cultures

Abstract

Objectives: This symposium presents the mathematical knowledge of Chinese preschool teachers from the perspective of PCK in the context of the new curriculum reform in Chinese preschool education. A question raised by the study regards the tension between teachers’ subject knowledge and early childhood’s integrated curriculum.

Perspectives: New curriculum reform in Chinese preschool education over the last two decades has put a great emphasis on the integrated educational experience for young children. Theme- or project-based approaches gave way to the traditional subject-oriented curriculum. While the reform has resulted in many positive changes, one unexpected consequence is decreased content knowledge among preschool teachers, and the case is particularly strong in the area of early mathematics (Author, 2013).

To portray a clear picture of Chinese preschool teachers’ mathematical knowledge, Shulman’s conceptual framework of PCK is applied. PCK is “the particular form of content most germane to its teachability” (Shulman, 1986, p. 9). It provides a structure to study preschool teachers’ math knowledge that is specific to teaching.
Modes of Inquiry: The PCK-EM survey is adapted from the authors of the U.S. study also presented in the symposium. Similar to the U.S. study, Chinese teachers watched authentic classroom teaching videos of math-focused lessons, and responded to nine open-ended questions concerning three PCK components: the content, students, and pedagogy in early mathematics. Different from the U.S. study, the videos show a Chinese teacher and children working on math problems. In addition, the narrative responses were coded according to three PCK components scored on the basis of 1-7 scales, resulting in scores ranging from 3 to 21.

Data Sources: The data was collected from a random sample of 161 teachers in Shanghai, China. Teachers varied by years of teaching, educational background, professional rank, and the centers where they worked (see Table 1). All teachers took the PCK-EM survey during working hours. Five teachers with the lowest and five with the highest PCK scores were later interviewed to gain an in-depth understanding about how PCK developed.

Results: Indicated in Table 2, none of the three PCK scores is high, and the “what” domain was the lowest dimension of all. Further, the only factor that significantly contributed to the teachers’ early math PCK was the rank of the preschool in which teachers worked (F (2) = 7.24, p < .001). None of the other factors, such as education level and years of teaching, made a significant difference. Interview data suggested the importance of in-service support, such as subject-specific workshops and the support of colleagues, in developing their professional knowledge.

Significance: Although it is impossible to draw a causal relationship between the results of the present study and the new curriculum reform in Chinese preschool education; the study did suggest that preschool teachers in China possessed limited PCK in early mathematics. Regardless of pre-service training, teachers seemed to develop stronger PCK in mathematics when working in a well-supported environment or a highly ranked preschool, indicating the critical role of center-based, ongoing support in teacher professional development.

Authors

• Jin Huang, East China Normal University

• Fang Tian, Shaanxi Preschool Teachers' College