ABSTRACT
Teachers’ instructional decisions are greatly influenced by their beliefs. The observed intimate relationship between teachers’ math-related beliefs and their approaches to instruction has led to a significant amount of research in this area over the last decade (e.g., Bray, 2011; Cross, 2009; Drageset, 2010; Kuntze, 2012; Lloyd, 2005; Philipp et al., 2007; Skott, 2001, 2009; Swars, Smith, Smith, & Hart, 2009; Sztajn, 2003). In this chapter, we focus on describing the empirical and theoretical work on the nature and structure of teachers’ mathematics-related beliefs (including beliefs about mathematics, and mathematics teaching and learning) and how they influence teachers’ instructional decisions. We place a specific emphasis on empirical work published over the last decade within the mathematics education field. 1 However, to situate the discussion of the most recent research findings related to teachers’ mathematics beliefs, we reference a few seminal articles published prior to the last decade.
