Developing Competences in Future Primary School Teachers under the Conditions of Teacher Education Standardization: A Theoretical Review

Abstract

Mathematical competence plays an essential role among subject-specific competences of primary school teachers. One should be able to think mathematically, understand mathematical proofs, communicate in “the language of mathematics” and use appropriate codification resources, which makes the concept of mathematical competence rather vital. The concept of primary school teachers’ mathematical competence can be specified through its structure. In this regard, this article analyzes scientific approaches to determining the components of this phenomenon. The structure of future primary school teachers’ mathematical competence is viewed as a system of the following components: motivational-axiological, cognitive, activity-related, communicative, reflexive-creative. It must be noted that the process of developing the structure of this competence and its components, especially contentand activity-related ones, required the authors of the article to analyze regulatory documents and syllabi of the mathematics course of six higher education institutions (HEIs) in Ukraine. All the analyzed syllabi indicate which knowledge, skills and abilities future graduates should possess. The chosen HEIs distribute academic workload differently; at the same time, the content of educational material to be studied is almost identical. The elements of future primary school teachers’ mathematical competence are as follows: arithmetic, algebraic, geometric, that of identical transformations of mathematical expressions, logical.