The Relationships among Knowledge, Beliefs, and Instructional Practices of Pre-Service and In-Service Mathematics Teachers: A Systematic Review

Source abstract

Various factors, including knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices, influence the quality of pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers’ instruction. The relationships among these factors have been investigated in many previous studies. This systematic review investigated the relationships among knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices of pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers by analyzing included studies from 2015 to 2023. The study used systematic review methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, along with descriptive and qualitative statistical analyses. A collection of 38 relevant studies, selected from databases such as Google Scholar, Mendeley, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Taylor & Francis Online, was analyzed to answer the research questions after a screening and eligibility assessment using inclusion and exclusion criteria. The research results on the relationships among knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices of pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers reported in the included studies are relatively diverse. In particular, most research shows that teachers’ knowledge affects their beliefs and the quality of teaching in their instructional practices. In contrast, their instructional practices promote the development of their knowledge, reflect, and enhance their beliefs. However, the proportion of studies finding the relationships among these factors to be insignificant remains relatively low. Based on these findings, the study makes recommendations to stakeholders for in-service mathematics teachers’ professional development and training, as well as pre-service mathematics teacher training programs. In addition, the study highlights limitations and suggests new research directions for the future.