METHODOLOGY
The study combined both quantitative and qualitatively research techniques. A blending
of techniques is recommended on studies about teachers’ instructional behaviour because
there is a need to elicit a broad range of teachers’ responses and to secure triangulation of
data.
Questionnaire Component of the Study
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A questionnaire was designed in consultation with teachers, policy makers, textbook
writers and senior academics in mathematics education. The purpose of the questionnaire
was to identify teachers’ level of engagement with each of the three teaching styles
depicted in the literature and described earlier in this paper. These teaching styles were
presented via different teaching scenarios and were represented by the hypothetical
teachers, Robin, Ashley and Lee. Participants were asked to indicate to what degree the
scenarios resembled their own teaching styles when teaching mathematics thematically.
Seven choices of response for each of the three scenarios were presented on a Likert-type
scale varying in their degree and agreement to the item. The minimum score was 1 and
the maximum score was 7 (Handal, Bobis, & Grimison, 2001). The questionnaire also
had an open-ended response section that was designed to elicit more information about
why teachers were using particular teaching practices.
Sample and procedure
Six questionnaires were mailed to each of the 69 high schools in metropolitan Sydney
offering the Standard Course. A letter addressed to the principal asked that the
questionnaires be given to the teachers of the Standard Course in the school. All schools
were contacted by telephone in the following weeks to encourage the completion and
return of the questionnaires. One hundred and twenty-two teachers from 44 schools
returned the questionnaires. This represented 62% of the total number of targeted schools
and approximately 52% of the total number of Standard Course teachers in the schools
sampled.
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