Turning moments: the crossroads of the prospective secondary teachers’ attitude towards math

Abstract

Relationship with mathematics strongly affects teachers’ practices. Specialist mathematics teachers’ positive relationship is often taken for granted, although recent studies suggest that this may not be the case. In this paper we present a narrative research aimed at investigating which events do prospective secondary teachers recognise as crucial in the development of their relationship with mathematics. The analysis reveals that experiences of success/failure in mathematics, teacher’s opinion, teacher’s charisma, and experiences of helping someone with maths are frequent factors influencing these events, impacting on prospective teachers' emotions, perceived competences, and view of mathematics.