After briefly analysing a classroom episode, we discuss aspects of the teacher's didactical knowledge, namely in its mathematical and instructional dimensions, as reflected in the answers of three prospective teachers to a written assignment based on the episode. We then raise some issues regarding initial teacher education, anchored in the notion…

This paper reports on a study that investigated the alternative conceptions of students in a biology and geology teacher education course regarding plant nutrition. Data were collected from first year and final year students using a questionnaire that had both multiple choice and descriptive items. Findings indicate common features related to the…

Expectancy-valence models are used most in the field of motivational psychology. However, teachers' motivation had not been studied by these models and only limited research exists assessing the expectancy and the valence constructs. This study's aim was to examine preservice teachers' and practicing teachers' motivation by the expectancy-valence…

This study explores difficulties that prospective elementary mathematics teachers have with the concepts of ratio and proportion, mainly when they are engaged in solving problems using algorithm procedures. These difficulties can be traced back to earlier experiences when they were students of junior and high school. The reflection on these…

The purpose of this study is to describe types and structural properties of instructional activities used by physics and chemistry preservice teachers (N=4) during their teaching of pupils 14 to 16 years old. The study involved the observation and tape recording of 64 classes with all tapes transcribed verbatim. Analysis involved the decomposition…

This investigation, using Nuttin Motivation Relational Theory (1985), was designed to analyze the main motivational objectives responsible for the university and professional fulfillment of teachers and future teachers. It also analyzed how those objectives are distributed in both intrinsic and extrinsic terms, as well as the relation between…

This research goes with a new tendency in the field of educational psychology--the study not only of students' motivation but also of teachers' motivation. However, the studies of teacher motivation had been only to acknowledge the factors to motivate teachers, without the analysis of motivation as a process that contains several cognitive…