Reading Of Professional Journals And Professional Development Of Mathematics Teachers' Knowledge

With the establishment of teaching as a profession, professional development of teachers has drawn much research attention and has become one of the leading topics in contemporary educational reforms. Accordingly, studies on professional development of mathematics teachers are also playing an active role against this background. Some American scholars like Heather Hill and Deborah Ball in particular point out the significance of professional development of mathematics teachers' knowledge.However, studies on professional development of teachers' knowledge mainly focus on pre-service schooling, in-service training and teaching seminars and so on. It is rare to see some studies on the relationship between teachers' professional development and their voluntary reading of professional journals.This thesis, therefore, attempts to carry out an empirical study on mathematics teachers in secondary schools in China, discussing the relationship between professional development of mathematics teachers' knowledge and these teachers' reading of professional journals. To be specific, this thesis is aimed to discuss the following three questions.The first question is regarding the status quo of teachers' reading of professional journals. This study finds out that most secondary school math teachers fail to develop a habit of reading professional journals. The obstacles on the way for them are lack of time and irrelevance of professional journals. However, for those who read, the improvement in teaching and researching forms their motivation.The second question is about the status of reading professional journals in the professional development of teachers* knowledge. This study reveals that reading professional journals is not a main channel of professional development of teachers' knowledge. In the eyes of most secondary school math teachers, the causes lie in the following two issues of topics: irrelevance and lack of centralization.The last question is about the influence of teachers' reading of professional journals upon the professional development of teachers' knowledge which mainly consists of the following six aspects: subject matter content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of learners and their characteristics and research knowledge. This thesis finds out that teachers' reading of professional journals exert influence on the professional development of teachers' knowledge. In addition, teachers' reading of professional journals also influences their teaching practices.In the end, the thesis presents some views and suggestions on the professional development of teachers' knowledge.