Mathematical beliefs and conceptions and their relationship to the teaching practices of elementary school teachers

This article presents the findings of a study that evaluated the pedagogical suitability of mathematics teaching practices among primary school teachers in San Juan de Betulia (Colombia). The research focused on exploring the beliefs and conceptions regarding the nature of mathematics and their relationship to classroom practices among ten teachers whose professional training is not specialized in mathematics. Adopting a phenomenological-hermeneutic interpretive approach, the analysis was based on the triangulation of (1) narratives from conversational interviews, (2) classroom video observations, and (3) lesson plan analysis. The main results reveal that the participating teachers articulate their pedagogical practices through a combination of constructivist elements—such as the activation of prior knowledge and the use of contextualized problems—and traits associated with traditional Platonic-idealist approaches, particularly the reliance on mechanical exercises as a central learning strategy. These findings expose notable inconsistencies between the beliefs and conceptions that inform their pedagogical discourse and their actual classroom practices.