Prospective Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Conceptions and Affective Dispositions toward Mathematics

Affective issues play an important role in mathematics education (McLeod, 1992). Affective variables such as belief, attitude, and conceptions take attention as a crucial topic in research on mathematics education (McLeod, 1992; Thompson, 1992). Especially the studies on beliefs of teachers have an essential place in the literature, since teachers’ beliefs related to mathematics shape their characteristics toward teaching and effect their teaching behavior (Thompson, 1984; 1992). Teachers’ approaches to teaching depend on their conceptions of nature and meaning of mathematics (Ernest, 1989). Therefore, it is important to investigate prospective teachers’ conceptions and dispositions towards mathematics to predict their teaching characteristics and behaviors and also to decide which components should be supported and improved during teacher education programs. In this sense, the purpose of the current study is to investigate prospective mathematics teachers’ conceptions and affective dispositions toward mathematics through metaphors. With this purpose, the following research questions guide the study: What are the nature of prospective middle school mathematics teachers’ conceptions of mathematics analyzed through their metaphors? What are the nature of prospective middle school mathematics teachers’ affective dispositions toward mathematics through their metaphors