| Abstract: | The study replicates Collier's (1972) work. It focuses on the beliefs of a large sample of elementary education students at four stages of teacher preparation, about both the nature of and the teaching of mathematics. The instrument measures what Collier termed a “formal‐informal” dimension of belief. The data suggest that initially the 1998 students held significantly more informal (constructivist) beliefs than did their 1968 counterparts. In both years, students moved toward more informal beliefs during the course of their programs, with the most significant changes occurring in their beliefs about how mathematics should be taught. However, apparent contradictions in belief structures were observed both at the start and at the end of their programs. Thus, it appears that though many students acquired new, more informal beliefs during the course of their programs, they did not develop robust, consistent philosophies of mathematics education. |
