THE IMPACT OF REFORM: CHALLENGES FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHER PREPARATION.

The mathematics education community has been widely recognized as a leader in the standards-based reform movement. Despite the widespread interest and attention that reform documents such as the NCTM Standards have generated. what has yet to he fully understood is the impact of these types of reform documents on the preservice teacher preparation process. This paper examines the state of the standards-based reform effort in mathematics teacher education by presenting the results of a three-year study of six cohorts of secondary mathematics student teachers (n = 63). Examined in particular are the ways in which these student teachers' professed beliefs about and knowledge of the NCTM Standards contrast with their teaching practices. Possible explanations for the mismatch between belief and knowledge statements and teaching practices are examined, along with other implications for mathematics teacher preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]