Similarities and Differences in Programs for Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Abstract

Each of the three chapters in Sect. “Program Requirements” addresses issues arising from similarities and differences in programs that prepare prospective teachers of secondary school mathematics, analyzed within and across two or three countries. Chapter 7, by Kim and Ham, addresses knowledge expectations, as expressed in official aims and curricula, in 49 programs in Korea and the United States. Chapter 8, by Koyama and Lew, compares two programs, one in Japan and one in Korea, with respect to their official curricula and certification requirements. Chapter 9, by Wang and Hsieh, examines self-assessed readiness to teach secondary mathematics in light of future teachers’ individual and institutional characteristics, at 1, 18, and 32 institutions in Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States, respectively. The authors of all three chapters stress the exploratory nature of their work and the difficulty of drawing strong implications for policy and practice from their findings.