Teaching high school mathematics in a climate of standards -based reform: The influence and interaction of teachers' beliefs and department culture on instructional decision -making and practice

This dissertation investigates how teacher beliefs and department norms interact to influence the instructional deliberations of urban high school math teachers working together in a climate of reform. Using a case study approach, I analyze teacher discussions from a dual-level perspective: individual teachers' beliefs about math, teaching, and learning; and the department community: cultural norms and collegial relations that shape their work. A fine-grained analysis employs a theoretical framework that integrates teacher cognition with organizational culture, heretofore dimensions of mathematics teaching investigated independently, to provide a more comprehensive explanation of teacher interactions and the ways that they affect instructional practice. I document how the mathematics reform context faced by this department perturbed existing tensions among three sets of norms within the department: (1) professional autonomy norms, (2) collegial norms, and (3) pedagogical norms. The interaction of these norms with individual teachers' beliefs about mathematics, learning, and teaching affected the decisions and actions taken by the teachers to respond to the demands of reform and meet the needs of their students. Specifically, the adherence to professional autonomy norms had a significant effect on the character of the collegial discussions. The existing configuration of norms did not support public discussions about beliefs. The variation and complexity of the teachers' beliefs, some of which were in direct conflict with the reform mandates, were protected by the professional autonomy norms and remained unexamined by the teachers.;The integrated analysis of beliefs and norms increases the explanatory power of teacher interactions in response to reform. The findings have important implications for teacher professional development and successful implementation of mathematics reform at the high school level.