Putting Schemata to the Test: Social Context and Math Teachers' Beliefs About Intelligence

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-13 - Teacher Beliefs in the Era of Accountability

Abstract

Despite recent research on academic mindsets, research has yet to focus on teachers’ views of student intelligence and how those beliefs relate to practice. Using in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation, this study examines teachers’ beliefs about students’ intelligence as cultural schemata and analyzes how factors in the school organizational context influence how these schema translate into action in the classroom. Findings suggest that the pressure of high-stakes testing prompts teachers to choose cultural schemata that categorize students vertically and prioritize speed. Findings also reveal gender differences in teachers’ perceptions of natural math ability.

Author

• Andrew D. Hoyt, University of Notre Dame