How Lithuanian mathematics teachers interpret student thinking at the different career stages

Monika Grigaliūnienė; Aušra Rutkienė; Erno Lehtinen

doi:10.29333/iejme/16235

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Monika Grigaliūnienė ¹ ^* , Aušra Rutkienė ¹ , Erno Lehtinen ¹ ²

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¹ Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, LITHUANIA² University of Turku, Turku, FINLAND^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study examines the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of Lithuanian mathematics teachers at different stages of their professional careers. The research sample comprised 134 participants ranging from novice teachers with no teaching experience to experienced educators, with the longest career spanning 45 years. The participants were divided into four groups according to the length of their career and the results were analyzed accordingly. While no significant correlation between PCK and career length was found in the overall test results, statistically significant differences were found between them for certain questions. The results make it clear that some teachers have difficulty interpreting students’ errors and developing appropriate teaching strategies. This study indicates that further research is needed to deepen the understanding of PCK development throughout teachers’ careers and to investigate the factors that contribute to differences in PCK within groups of teachers with similar career lengths.

Keywords

mathematics pedagogical content knowledge
pre-service teachers
in-service teachers

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 20, Issue 3, August 2025, Article No: em0835

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16235

Publication date: 01 Jul 2025

Online publication date: 02 Apr 2025

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APA

Grigaliūnienė, M., Rutkienė, A., & Lehtinen, E. (2025). How Lithuanian mathematics teachers interpret student thinking at the different career stages. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 20(3), em0835. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16235

Vancouver

Grigaliūnienė M, Rutkienė A, Lehtinen E. How Lithuanian mathematics teachers interpret student thinking at the different career stages. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2025;20(3):em0835. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16235

AMA

Grigaliūnienė M, Rutkienė A, Lehtinen E. How Lithuanian mathematics teachers interpret student thinking at the different career stages. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2025;20(3), em0835. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16235

Chicago

Grigaliūnienė, Monika, Aušra Rutkienė, and Erno Lehtinen. "How Lithuanian mathematics teachers interpret student thinking at the different career stages". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2025 20 no. 3 (2025): em0835. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16235

Harvard

Grigaliūnienė, M., Rutkienė, A., and Lehtinen, E. (2025). How Lithuanian mathematics teachers interpret student thinking at the different career stages. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 20(3), em0835. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16235

MLA

Grigaliūnienė, Monika et al. "How Lithuanian mathematics teachers interpret student thinking at the different career stages". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 20, no. 3, 2025, em0835. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/16235