Call for Extended Abstracts - Researching the expertise of mathematics teacher educators in initial teacher education settings

A wealth of research exists studying a range of phenomena where the focus is on mathematics teachers. However, the same level of attention has not been given to research on the mathematics teacher educator (MTE). In particular, research on the expertise of MTEs who support the learning and development of prospective mathematics teachers (PTs) in initial teacher education settings has been far less reported on. This special issue of JMTE is intended to contribute to this underrepresented area of research. The focus is on MTEs who teach mathematics or mathematics education/methods courses for undergraduate or postgraduate PTs specialising in any school level (pre-school, primary, secondary, advanced). MTE expertise is being interpreted broadly in relation to practice, competence or skill to effectively teach PTs. This includes, but is not limited to, mathematical knowledge for teaching PTs, pedagogical knowledge for teaching PTs, tacit understandings, actions, goals/purposes, perceptions/beliefs, affective dispositions, use of technology, specific practices such as problem solving or modelling teaching, and course/task design (Appova & Taylor, 2019; Chapman, 2021; Chick & Beswick, 2018; Goos & Beswick, 2021; Li & Superfine, 2016; Masingila et al., 2018; Rojas et al., 2021). 
 

We invite contributions that articulate ways in which MTE expertise can be represented and analysed in a systematic way. Chapman (2021) challenges the mathematics teacher education research community to “give attention to other ways of representing [MTE expertise] as a complex system or way of thinking” (p. 412). This challenge introduces an opportunity to move beyond category-based descriptions (Chapman, 2021) of MTE knowledge towards ways of conceptualising and researching the expertise of MTEs that capture its complex nature. More work is still to be done on conceptualising the overall complex nature of MTE expertise. Research that captures and conceptualises MTE expertise is also underdeveloped particularly when taking into account the change in the nature of expertise as a result of changing school and initial teacher education curriculum (e.g., in response to ecological crises). The use of technology and its relationship with MTE expertise is also under-researched as is research that explores the “impact of increasingly regulated teacher education environments” (Beswick & Goos, 2018, p. 425) on MTEs. Research on MTEs also needs more attention to utilising a diverse range of methodologies.  For example, few studies that utilise self-based methodologies (e.g., self-study, narrative inquiry) are published in academic journals within the field of mathematics education (Chapman et al., 2020). Thus, a gap exists both in relation to practitioner-research that utilises self-based methodologies as well as studies that explore and develop methodologies for researching on and with other MTEs. 

In general, there are important areas of research on MTE expertise that need attention and this special issue is intended to make a significant contribution to the field through related research by international scholars. 

We invite Extended Abstracts of up to 1,000 words (excluding references) to be sent by email to the three guest editors by 16th March 2023.
 

Authors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit a full paper in English of up to 7,500 words (excluding references) by 30th August 2023. Papers will be reviewed following the JMTE process. Publication of the Special Issue is planned for August-September 2024.

Focus: 
We invite submissions of the following types (in all cases, by ‘MTE’ we are referring specifically to ‘MTEs within initial teacher education settings’):

• Empirical studies of MTEs that focus on MTE expertise. 
• Literature review of existing research on MTE expertise (e.g., conceptualisations of MTE expertise; technological educational advancements that influence teacher practices thus affecting MTE expertise; philosophical or speculative perspectives that articulate the complexity of MTE expertise; methods that qualify complex and holistic practices).
• Theoretical papers exploring conceptualisations of MTE expertise that attend to the scholarship of the categorisation of knowledge but also “go beyond” prescriptive categorisations and engage in other ways of representing MTE expertise as a complex system or way of thinking.
• Research papers with a methodological focus that explore the complexities of researching MTEs’ own expertise (e.g., use of self-based methodologies) or expertise of other MTEs.
• Papers (theoretical/methodological/empirical) that explore the issues and challenges faced by MTEs in researching MTE expertise with potential ways forward for the MTE-researcher community to consider.
• Research papers that attend to the questions of how MTE expertise can be developed, taught or learned, and about resources that could enhance expertise.
• Research papers that focus on MTEs multiple identities (e.g. as researchers, former teachers, etc.) and how their expertise draws upon their other professional identities or relate to them in different ways. 
• International comparative studies focusing on the variation of context, norms, objectives, curriculum and the interactions of these with and on MTE expertise. 

Guest Editors
Tracy Helliwell (University of Bristol, United Kingdom) tracy.helliwell@bristol.ac.uk
Sean Chorney (Simon Fraser University, Canada) sean_chorney@sfu.ca
Olive Chapman (University of Calgary, Canada) chapman@ucalgary.ca

 
Timeline
Extended abstract submissions: March 16, 2023
Invitations for full papers: April 16, 2023
Full paper submissions: August 30, 2023
Initial decisions to authors: November 16, 2023 
Revised submissions: January 31, 2024
Decisions to authors: April 30, 2024
Final approved manuscripts submitted: June 30, 2024
To Publication: August-September, 2024

How to submit your Extended Abstract
By email to the Guest Editors (Tracy, Sean and Olive)
Please include the title and the names and affiliations of all authors

References:
Appova, A., & Taylor, C. (2019). Expert mathematics teacher educators’ purposes and practices for providing prospective teachers with opportunities to develop pedagogical content knowledge in content courses. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 22(2), 179–204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-017-9385-z 
 

Beswick, K., & Goos, M. (2018). Mathematics teacher educator knowledge: What do we know and where to from here? Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 21(5), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-018-9416-4
 

Chapman, O. (2021). Mathematics teacher educator knowledge for teaching teachers. In M. Goos & K. Beswick (Eds.), The learning and development of mathematics teacher educators: International perspectives and challenges (pp. 403–416). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62408-8_21
 

Chapman, O., Kastberg, S., Suarzo-Flores, E., Cox, D., & Ward, J. (2020). Mathematics teacher educators’ learning through self-based methodologies. In K. Beswick, & O. Chapman (Eds.), International handbook of mathematics teacher education (Volume 4) (2nd ed., pp. 157–187). Brill Sense. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004424210_008
 

Chick, H., & Beswick, K. (2018). Teaching teachers to teach Boris: A framework for mathematics teacher educator pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education 21(5), 475–499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-016-9362-y
 

Goos, M., & Beswick, K. (2021). Introduction: The Learning and Development of Mathematics Teacher Educators. In M. Goos & K. Beswick (Eds.) The Learning and Development of Mathematics Teacher Educators (pp. 1–20). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62408-8_1
 

Li, W., & Superfine, A. C. (2016). Mathematics teacher educators’ perspectives on their design of content courses for elementary preservice teachers. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 21(2), 179–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-016-9356-9
 

Masingila, J. O., Olanoff, D., & Kimani, P. M. (2018). Mathematical knowledge for teaching teachers: Knowledge used and developed by mathematics teacher educators in learning to teach via problem solving. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 21(5), 429–450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-017-9389-8
 

Rojas, F., Montenegro, H., Goizueta, M., & Martínez, S. (2021). Researching modelling by mathematics teacher educators: Shifting the focus onto teaching practices. In M. Goos & K. Beswick (Eds.), The learning and development of mathematics teacher educators (pp. 367–382). Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62408-8_19