Finnish lower secondary special needs and special class teachers’ approaches to mathematics instruction

This survey study focused on mathematics instruction by Finnish lower secondary special needs and special class teachers with students in need of additional support. Teachers reported their teaching of and preparation for teaching, (a) thinking skills and methods, (b) numbers and mathematical operations, (c) algebra, (d) functions, (e) geometry, and (f) data processing, statistics, and probability. Teachers also reported their use of research-based instructional approaches (i.e., explicit instruction, self-monitoring, mathematics discourse, real-world problems, graduated instructional sequence, strategy instruction, grouping strategies) and the reasons if an approach was not used. Results indicated that about 90% of teachers feel prepared or very prepared to teach mathematical topics, except for data processing, statistics, and probability. Teachers use some aspects of explicit instruction always or often. However, other instructional approaches, including incorporating mastery learning, scaffolding instruction, and teaching problem representation and solution, are implemented sometimes or never. Additional results and implications are provided.