Identifying beliefs underlying the teacher's decision to teach mathematical problem solving: An elicitation study using the Theory of Planned Behaviour

The study sought to identify barriers and motivators as perceived by primary school teachers, when considering teaching mathematical problem solving, within the context of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework. A sample of 50 teachers, recruited from six primary classrooms in a large, mainly rural local education directorate in Ghana, responded to an open-ended question interview designed to elicit perceptions of positive/negative consequences, approving/disapproving referents, and easy/difficult circumstances in relation to teaching MPS. Coded responses were content analysed into behavioural, normative, and control beliefs as explored in the TPB model. Findings suggest that teachers: (1) view teaching MPS both positively and negatively; (2) feel referents would more likely approve of them teaching MPS than disapprove; (3) view the availability/lack of resources and time, amongst others, as key facilitating/impeding factors to teaching MPS. The implications of the findings for practice are discussed.