How do students evaluate their teachers’ support for productive struggle in learning mathematics? A mixed-methods study

Among the effective teaching practices identified by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in the United States (US) is productive struggle, a variable concerned with the emotional aspect in teaching and learning mathematics. This study aimed to evaluate teachers’ support for their students’ productive struggle in learning mathematics across three stages (before, during and after the lesson). The study employed a mixed-methods approach with a convergent parallel design. The sample comprised 560 male and female students in the quantitative study and 25 male and female students in the qualitative study, who were at the secondary school level, and their ages ranged from 16 to 19 years old. Data were collected using a questionnaire and interviews. Teachers’ support for productive struggle was rated during, before and after lessons. The study yielded several results of interest, the most prominent being the consistency between the quantitative and qualitative findings, with students expressing satisfaction with their teachers’ support. In addition, the study found statistically significant differences in favour of female teachers regarding the level of teaching practices supporting productive struggle. Among the recommendations made based on the findings, the most important is to conduct experimental studies that examine the emotional aspects of the students and develop the productive struggle among the students in learning mathematics.