MATHEMATICS TEACHERS' EPISTEMIC DISPOSITIONS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH TEACHER INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT LEARNING: A SYSTEMATIC RESEARCH SYNTHESIS.

Some research suggests that teachers' beliefs and thoughts about the nature of mathematical knowledge and knowing (broadly termed epistemic dispositions) comprise an important factor that influences their practice. However, to date, there is no systematic review of the empirical literature on mathematics teachers' epistemic dispositions. The purpose of this systematic research synthesis was to assess the existing empirical literature in order to (a) describe mathematics teachers' epistemic dispositions, (b) to identify whether such dispositions correlate with teacher's use of constructivist teaching practices, and (c) correlate with student learning outcomes. A systematic assessment of 30 relevant studies suggest that teachers, on average, hold constructivist epistemic dispositions regarding mathematics. Few studies reported correlations between epistemic cognition indices and teacher practice or student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]