Conceptual Framework
This document outlines the framework and a comprehensive plan for a cross-national study of primary and secondary mathematics teacher education (TEDS-M) sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). TEDS-M 2008, which builds on the results of TIMSS and other earlier studies, focuses on how teachers are prepared to teach mathematics in primary and lower secondary school. TEDS-M is a study of the variation in the nature and impact of teacher education programs within and across countries. The study will collect and analyze nationally representative data from participating countries to address contested issues and improve policy and practice in teacher education. This document lays out the goals and justification for this study as well as its design and methodology.TEDS-M owes its existence to its funding agencies. Although each of the participating national centers must raise its own funds to cover many of the costs of the study, and the IEA organization itself invested heavily to get this study started, the study could not be completed without a very substantial grant to cover international costs. In the case of TEDS-M, this major funding is provided by the US National Science Foundation (NSF). This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0514431. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
