Teachers’ Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

TLDR

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) are key components of teacher competence that affect student progress, yet little is known about how teacher education influences their development. The study aimed to assess mathematics teachers’ CK and PCK by constructing direct tests. Using these tests, the authors compared PCK and CK across four groups of German mathematics teachers at different career stages. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed measurement invariance, and the largest CK and PCK differences occurred between the start and end of initial teacher education, reflecting the structures of teacher education.

Abstract

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) are key components of teacher competence that affect student progress. However, little is known about how teacher education affects the development of CK and PCK. To address this question, our research group constructed tests to directly assess mathematics teachers’ CK and PCK. Based on these tests, we compared the PCK and CK of four groups of mathematics teachers at different points in their teaching careers in Germany. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that PCK and CK measurement was satisfactoryly invariant across the teacher populations considered. As expected, the largest differences in CK and PCK were found between the beginning and the end of initial teacher education. Differences in the structures of teacher education were reasonably well reflected in participants’ CK and PCK.