Crossing the divide between teacher professionalism and national testing in middle school mathematics

Abstract

Teacher professionalism is a social construct which varies across time and place. In relation to the teaching of mathematics in the middle school, professionalism is a concept under siege; with the advent of national testing some teachers predict dire consequences for student learning. In this small research project several teachers depicted their views of ‘quality’ in relation to the teaching of mathematics and potential threats from the coercive context in which they work.