Preparing mathematics teachers in Singapore: The issue of mathematics content knowledge

Abstract

Lee Shulman (1986) brought to the forefront the need to distinguish the different dimensions of teacher knowledge that will help guide teacher preparation. Instead of the then prevalent view of ensuring that the student teacher enters teacher education with adequate subject content knowledge and then equipping her with generic pedagogical knowledge, Shulman introduced the dimension at the nexus of subject content knowledge and generic pedagogical knowledge as pedagogical content knowledge. We, as Mathematics educators, are happy to claim Shulman as one of our own, as he based much of his research and writing on the discipline of Mathematics.