Study 16: Comparing Mathematical Wellbeing [MWB] of Mathematics Teachers in Turkey and Australia.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD has placed special emphasis on wellbeing [WB] in education and has indicated that the improvement of individual and social WB is among the priority goals of education. It is noted in the relevant literature that WB is based on values and should be addressed within a context (e.g., mathematics) (see Alexandrova, 2017). Mathematical wellbeing [MWB] is a new research topic for mathematics education research attracting increasing international attention. MWB can differ across cultures, schools, and school subject disciplines (e.g., mathematics and science). We consider MWB as the fulfilment of core values in the process of learning mathematics that is accompanied by positive feelings and functioning (Hill et al., 2020). On the other hand, a country’s education system can be better understood when compared to the education systems of another country because each culture and society has different approaches and philosophies in teaching and learning mathematics. Therefore, each country’s unique socio-cultural factors can differentiate countries’ education in general and mathematics education and teaching in particular (An et al., 2006). In addition, international comparative studies can provide valuable information on what can be learned from educational environments and practices in different countries and cultures to improve teachers’ and students’ mathematics teaching or learning (Cai et al., 2009). In this context, Türkiye and Australia are two countries that are quite different in terms of factors such as culture, education system, language, and religion and are always candidates for international comparative projects. Therefore, this study aims to determine and compare the values mathematics teachers in Turkish and Australian contexts attribute to mathematics and teaching mathematics and their connections with MWB. The results obtained here are expected to be a rich source of ideas for further cross-cultural research on values in mathematics classrooms in general and MWB in particular. So, our study will celebrate these diverse perspectives.

This study has been funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye [in Turkish: TÜBİTAK]

Co – Leaders:

Prof Dr Yüksel DEDE (Gazi University, Türkiye)
Dr Julia HILL (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia)