Professional Knowledge Recognized as Necessary by Mathematics Teachers in Japanese Correspondence High Schools: A Qualitative Study Using Focus Group and the TPACK Framework

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the professional knowledge recognized as necessary by mathematics teachers in correspondence high schools, focusing on the TPACK framework. Data were collected through a focus group with correspondence high school mathematics teachers. The data were analyzed qualitatively, and the categories generated were analyzed based on the TPACK framework. The characteristics of the correspondence high school system, such as “self-learning as a core process” and “limited face-to-face instruction,” indicate that correspondence high school mathematics teachers need professional knowledge in “motivating self-learning,” “establishment of online learning environments that connect face-to-face instruction and self-learning” and “research on learning materials and development of digital learning materials for self-learning in mathematics”. In addition, because correspondence high schools enroll diverse students, there are double individual differences in academic ability and individual differences in the learning progress. Therefore, it is found that mathematics teachers in correspondence high schools need to have professional knowledge of “differentiated instruction strategies” and “ensuring the commonality of high school mathematics while responding to diversity”. A future work is to develop a teacher training program for mathematics teachers in correspondence high schools using the findings of this study.