An investigation of the factors that affect the development and application of pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics PGCE students

This research project investigates the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) of trainee mathematics teachers going through the PGCE programme. I analyzed five interviews from each of five trainees at different times in their training regarding their choices on matters that relate to PCK using grounded theory. This produced a collection of factors that affected their PCK during their training. These factors and their particular effects on the trainees were described in detail through the lens of the communities of practice theory. This study provides a view of the experience of learning to become a mathematics teacher through the PGCE programme and suggests that is is extremely varied. Most of the factors identified were not consistent for all the trainees, and those that were shared often had different effects. The similarities and differences of these factors are presented in this study, with some implications and ideas for further study.