Learners＇ and teachers＇ conceptions and dispositions of mathematics from a Middle Eastern perspective

The paper discusses an on-going research project that studies students＇ and teachers＇ conceptions and dispositions of mathematics. Conceptions are the views that students hold on a subject, and what they believe is required in learning and doing the subject. Dispositions are the beliefs or tendencies to exhibit a frequent, conscious and voluntary behavior directed towards learning a subject. The participants are high school students, higher education students and mathematics teachers. The study utilizes self-reporting tools as well as focus groups and interviews in a three-stage research model. This is a work on progress. Results to date are briefly discussed.     

Attitudes of non-specialist teachers of English to some current basic concepts in teaching English as a second language

A study of the attitudes of non-specialist primary school teachers to current principles of teaching English as a second language is reported here. The respondents were found to be favourable to the most obvious general principles, but to have reservations about the finer points of support and reinforcement.