Long-Term Relationships Between Mathematics Instructional Time During Teacher Preparation and Specialized Content Knowledge

We investigated how the time elementary preservice teachers (PSTs) spent studying certain mathematics topics during teacher education coursework was related to performance on teaching-related tasks administered after graduation. In two studies, participants completed tasks assessing their specialized content knowledge (SCK) for teaching 12 mathematical topics addressed to varying degrees in the preparation program. We found that instructional time was positively associated with SCK demonstrated both immediately postgraduation and 2 years later. Several possible confounding factors were assessed; one, entering PSTs’ average SCK for topics, appeared to influence the relationship. Accounting for professional learning postgraduation, such as attending professional development, did not change the underlying relationship. Considering these findings, we identify policy implications for the mathematics curriculum of PST education.