Primary School Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs About Teaching in Synchronous Virtual Classrooms: A Mixed Method Study

Resumo

This study was conducted following the initial stage of the transition to distance education necessitated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and meeting the various challenges that came with it. At this point, countries and teachers have gained experience in preparing and delivering online education. Therefore, the study aimed to identify the beliefs of primary school mathematics teachers about teaching in synchronous virtual classrooms. It adopted a mixed methods approach, following a convergent parallel design. The overall study sample comprised 410 male and female teachers. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data across three dimensions (teaching efficiency, employing the philosophy of active learning, mathematical achievement). There were 31 items (verified for validity and reliability) comprising statements measured using a five-point Likert scale, together with open-ended options for further elaboration. In total, 130 teachers completed the questionnaire. Interviews were conducted with 10 teachers to collect qualitative data. The results show means in the range 3–5.75 for agreement with statements concerning the beliefs of mathematics teachers about teaching in virtual classrooms in the following order of importance: teaching competence; mathematical achievement; employing the philosophy of active learning. The study also found no statistically significant differences attributable to the variables of gender, qualification, or teaching experience, and also that many factors are considered to affect teaching in synchronous virtual classrooms related to the teacher, the family, and the student.

Dados da obra

Tipo

Artigo

Periódico

European Journal of Educational Research, v. volume-11-2022, n. volume-11-issue-3-july-2022, p. 1763-1780

Editora

RU Publications

Ano

2022 (2022-06-22)

Idioma

en

Palavras-chave

teacher beliefs; primary school mathematics teachers; synchronous virtual classrooms; online learning; distance education; COVID-19 pandemic; teaching efficiency; active learning; mathematics achievement; teaching competence; gender differences; teaching experience

Temas

Tecnologias Digitais

DOI

10.12973/eu-jer.11.3.1763

ISSN

2165-8714

Licença

cc-by

Acesso

Download disponível

Fontes

OpenAlex

Na Biblioteca desde

01/10/2026 · verificada em 03/10/2026