Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching in the Initial Education of Special Education Teachers

Abstract

Background : The education of special education teachers is diverse in scope and content. One of the existing approaches corresponds to a five-year university degree. School mathematics is among the various subjects that make up the formative plans for careers. Objectives : The goal of this paper is to characterise the knowledge for mathematics teaching offered by the course syllabuses related to school mathematics in the initial education of prospective special education teachers. Design : This research is framed within a qualitative approach from a descriptive and interpretative perspective. Specifically, a non-interactive qualitative approach was used. Setting and Participants : Thirty-one subject syllabuses from 12 universities of the Council of Deans of Chilean Universities were analysed. Data collection and analysis : The syllabuses were analysed through a content analysis that combined concept-driven and data-driven development and was carried out sequentially. Results : The results show that the content knowledge focuses on numbers and operations from a procedural and definitional perspective. On the other hand, pedagogical content knowledge focuses on the design of interventions. Conclusions : We conclude that knowledge for teaching mathematics in special education needs to include mathematics educators in the discussion about what knowledge special educators should have.