| This study relates major recommendations extracted from the 1989 Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (Standards) to the perceptions of mathematics and school mathematics held by (a) building level administrators, (b) teachers of mathematics K-12, (c) math 12 students, (d) prospective secondary mathematics teachers, and (e) prospective elementary teachers of Chautauqua County, NY. In addition, the possible impact of school type (city, suburban, or rural) or years of professional experience upon respondent perceptions of mathematics and school mathematics is examined. Information was collected from 17 of the 19 school districts in Chautauqua County.;All building level administrators and all teachers of mathematics, grades 7-12, in each of the 17 participating school districts in addition to all juniors and seniors enrolled in the elementary mathematics content course or secondary mathematics methods course at SUNY College at Fredonia were asked to respond to a questionnaire measuring perceptions of mathematics and school mathematics (with items keyed to selected features of the Standards). The teachers of elementary school mathematics and math 12 students were drawn from a selected sample of the school districts. This sample consisted of one of the two city school systems, two of the four suburban type school systems, and six of the thirteen rural school systems. There was a 77% return rate for the 642 respondents surveyed.;Major findings. A respondent's role in the educational process is a factor in determining perceptions of mathematics and school mathematics with administrators indicating the highest degree of alignment and math 12 students the lowest degree of alignment with the Standards. Neither school type, nor years of professional experience appear to be significant factors influencing a respondent's perceptions of mathematics or school mathematics. Teachers are very supportive of computers being utilized in the mathematics classroom, but are much less inclined to perceive any major role for calculators in the mathematics classroom. The vision of mathematics and school mathematics portrayed by math 12 students is markedly different from that portrayed by their teachers. More effort must be directed toward informing educators of at least the major recommendations of the Standards. Approximately 50% of all teacher and administrator respondents professed absolutely no knowledge of the major recommendations of the Standards. |
