Exploring mathematics educational values (MEV) differences in experienced mathematics teachers’ narratives of critical incidents

Abstract Teachers’ instructional decisions reflect underlying pedagogical values, yet limited research examines how teachers recognise and interpret value differences in classroom practice. This study investigates how nine experienced Malaysian secondary mathematics teachers interpreted mathematics educational values (MEV) tensions through critical incident narratives. Data from online semi-structured interviews were analysed in two stages: first, extracting critical incidents from narratives, and second, coding underlying MEV tensions. Analysis identified six key MEV differences: application versus computation, enjoyment versus hardship, ability versus effort, exposition versus exploration, compliance versus contribution, and information communication technology (ICT) versus paper-and-pen. Findings indicate that making MEV tensions explicit through critical incident narratives can enhance teachers’ reflective practice by surfacing previously implicit value conflicts. This study advances the mathematics education literature by operationalising pedagogical values through narrative analysis and demonstrating the potential of the critical incident methodology to support values-informed professional practice. Implications for teacher preparation and professional development are discussed.