Interpretations of, and orientations to, "understanding mathematics in depth": students in MEC programmes across institutions

In this paper we present initial findings from our study of interpretations and orientations to ‘understanding mathematics in depth’ among students in selected Mathematics Enhancement Courses (MEC) in the UK. The MEC is a 26-week pre-Initial Teacher Education (ITE) ‘mathematics subject knowledge for teaching’ course designed for, and undertaken by, graduates wishing to teach mathematics at secondary level, but do not have a Mathematics degree. It is completed before commencing with a PGCE. A common theme running through the MEC documentation is the importance of ‘understanding mathematics in depth’. We are interested in what and how MEC students interpret and orient themselves towards ‘understanding mathematics in depth’. In designing and conducting our empirical work we have drawn upon a related project in South Africa, which is exploring ‘mathematics for teaching’, specifically what and how mathematics and teaching are co-constituted in mathematics teacher education programmes. The MEC is an interesting empirical context for such study, as it is a mathematics course, or set of courses, specifically designed for future teachers. We have collected data through guided, semi-structured interviews with 18 students and 4 lecturing staff at three different institutions. The interpretations and orientations of MEC students towards mathematics and the notion of ‘understanding mathematics in depth’, we contend, provide additional insight into the developing notion of mathematical knowledge in and for teaching.