The purpose of this study is to investigate how teachers assess “students’ proactive attitude toward learning” in the area of “data handling” in junior high school mathematics. To achieve this purpose, we developed a questionnaire consisting of 60 items by combining three aspects of students’ proactive attitude toward learning, which are specified in the Japanese national curriculum, and the five categories of non-cognitive skills. We conducted this questionnaire with 48 teachers, and from an exploratory factor analysis of the result, we have identified three factors of the teachers’ assessment: an explorative mind toward problem solving in real situations, emotional stability and resilience to the uncertainty of the results of problem solving, and interest in others’ problem solving. We have also found differences in the teachers’ assessment factors depending on their teaching experiences. Implications for professional development and teaching are discussed.
