Date of Award

Spring 2005

Project Type

Dissertation

Program or Major

Mathematics Education

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

Karen Graham

Abstract

Continuous evaluation and feedback are essential to improving the quality of teacher preparation programs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of various aspects of the preparation of preservice middle school mathematics teachers at Riyadh Teachers' College, Saudi Arabia, from the perspective of both preservice middle school mathematics teachers and mathematics department faculty members. The focus of this study was on the mathematics department's theoretical framework, its governance and resources, faculty qualifications and performance, courses and field experiences, approaches of teaching, and assessment forms. Two research questionnaires were developed for the purpose of collecting research data: one for the preservice middle mathematics teachers, and another for the teaching staff of the mathematics department who train these preservice teachers. The distribution and collection of questionnaires took an average of three weeks. The final number collected was one hundred sixty-nine, representing 63% of the total number of questionnaires distributed.

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for various computational procedures employed. The result emphasized the need to explore reducing the number of mathematics specialization courses and/or connecting the content of these courses more to the school curricula. The findings in the current study indicate that the participants believe that the most critical aspects of the courses that need to be improved are knowledge of mathematics pedagogy and knowledge of technology.

The results show that the program suffers from a lack of adequate teaching materials and equipment, such as computers and computer software, calculators, and electronic information resources. Further, the findings of the current study revealed that there might be a need to increase the number and type of early field experiences.

The current study recommended the program to employ faculty members who have middle school level experience and expertise. The study suggested the faculty members in the mathematics department to explore alternative teaching styles. In addition to studying the needs and opinions of faculty members with regard to the program, the study encourages more research on the problems they face in such colleges.

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