Summary

This is a research-based book on mathematics teacher education. It is about the learning of prospective and inservice mathematics teachers, mathematics educators, and researchers. The text is intended for a broad audience including teacher educators, mathematics educators, graduate students in mathematics education, and mathematics teachers at all levels of schooling. In offering an examination of teacher education programs from different societies and cultures, this book provides an international perspective on mathematics teacher education. Practical situations associated with related theories are studied critically throughout the chapters. The possibilities and constraints of making an analogy between mathematics learning theories and mathematics teachers' learning theories are argued and examined. New perspectives on mathematics teacher education are presented along with relevant examples thus enhancing the book's readability for international readers. BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK The book was inspired by the obvious need to address issues in mathematics teacher education. In particular, the following mission statement for the newly established Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education (JMTE) reflects the mission of this book as well. The Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education is devoted to topics and issues involving the education of teachers of mathematics at all stages of their professional development. JMTE will serve as a forum for research on teachers' learning, for considering institutional, societal, and cultural influences that impact the education of mathematics teachers, and for creating models for teachers of mathematics. (Editorial, JMTE, 1(1), p.