Becoming Reflective Practitioners: Gender GAP Analysis of Mathematics Student Teachers’ Reflective Practices

While reflective thinking practices are thought to be a factor in building bridges between a course of study and personal experience resulting in engaging and personalized learning activities, the present study examined the potential disparities in reflective thinking practices and how they influence preservice mathematics teachers' behavior. Underpinned by a positivist paradigm, the present study employed a quantitative research approach and a survey design. Data was collected from three hundred and fifty-nine mathematics student teachers who were preparing to become mathematics teachers once they had obtained a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree. Data collected was therefore analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics. Lifelong learning skills, self-assessment, self-belief, teaching awareness, and reflective thinking were all examined using a framework based on five components. Research findings revealed that while reflective thinking practices are often emphasized in teacher education programs, results clearly show that the process of reflective practices is conceptualized differently by female and male participants. Research findings also revealed that constructs such as lifelong learning skills, self-assessment ability, and teaching awareness have a more decisive influence on male participants than their female counterparts. This resulted in male participants having less perception of the usefulness of reflective thinking practices. Based on the findings, it was suggested that various support systems should be developed in mathematics teacher education programs to facilitate more independent and self-directed reflective thinking practices among both female and male mathematics students teachers.


INTRODUCTION
Teachers' development as reflective practitioners is widely acknowledged as vital professional qualities in teacher education worldwide (Aldahmash, Alshmrani, & Almufti, 2017;Ngololo & Kanandjebo, 2021).This is because reflective practice is a technique that can aid in smoothing instructional activities while also improving students' learning and comprehension.Similarly, reflection can improve teacher education programs (Moore, 2004) and enables student teachers to develop the ability to make a well-informed evaluation and proficient decisions regarding their teaching and empowering strategies (Mathew, Mathew, & Peechattu, 2017).Aldahmash, Alshalhoub, and Naji (2021) also add that reflective practice is critical in achieving mathematics education goals and evaluating student teachers' experiences in the classroom.
As such, by engaging in continuous and focused reflection, beginning teachers are fortified to cultivate a critical attitude toward their classroom practice (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2010).However, in teacher training programs in developing countries, the nature of reflection and the development of effective practitioners remains a significant issue.
According to Chapman (2012), reflective practice demands making a conscious effort to learn new things every day and admitting that lifelong learning is one's responsibility.It is also concerned with developing general capabilities and exceptional performance in any given activity by promoting skills and competencies (Sibahi, 2015).
Despite the prospect of reflective thinking practices in teacher education programs, researchers have criticized reflective practices as sterile and impassive, as well as a method for a professional concession that confirms present ideas rather than challenging preconceptions (Fendler, 2003;Fook, 2010;Choy, Dinham, Yim, & Williams, 2021).Similarly, reflective practices within approved frameworks, according to Myers, Smith, and Tesar (2017) promoting understanding (Fox, 2008).A quantitative research approach was employed for the present study because it focuses on obtaining numerical data and evaluating it using mathematical methods, particularly statistics, to understand a phenomenon under investigation (Apuke, 2017).For this study, survey research was found suitable, given that it is a quantitative approach in which the researcher asks a

INSTRUMENT
The scale items for the study were  Similarly, 12 percent of female and 14 percent of male participants were interested in self-discovery to apply their knowledge on how they teach and become better teachers.Findings also revealed that the majority of the female mathematics student teachers believed strongly that students' feedback is vital for critical reflection.As such, 38 percent of the female mathematics students' teachers held this belief to selfassess themselves, while only 33 percent of the male participants were of a similar view.
Lastly, 41 percent of the male participants, as opposed to 44 percent of female participants, believe that learning from the feedback they get is a way of self-assessment that helps them reflect on their practices.

IMPACT OF SELF-BELIEF ON REFLECTIVE THINKING
This section presents findings on the influence of mathematics student teachers' self-beliefs on their reflective practices.
planned set of questions to a whole group, or sample, of people.According toBlackstone (2018), when a researcher wants to characterize or explain the characteristics of a big group or groups, survey research is beneficial.At the institution, a request to participate in the research was sent electronically through the use of student emails at the beginning of the first semester of the 2021/22 academic session to approximately 6500 students in the faculty of education across the three campuses of the university.The participants were thereafter screened by area of specialization (mathematics education) given that the researchers were only interested in student teachers who were preparing to become mathematics teachers once they had obtained a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree.A stratified sampling technique was employed for the study because it enables the researchers to obtain a sample population that best represents the entire population being studied thereby making sure that each subgroup of interest is represented (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2018).The researchers derived a minimum sample size estimate of 363 based on a normal approximation to the binomial distribution with a finite population correction applied using a 95% confidence level and margin error of 5%.The questionnaire was thereafter administered electronically via students' email to the 363 participants in which 4 responses were excluded based on incomplete information, voluntary withdrawal, and failure to return the questionnaires, making it a total of 359 participants.All the participants in the study were student teachers who were preparing to become mathematics teachers once they had obtained a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree.In the selected university, pre-service teachers usually keep a reflective journal during their school experiences, given that this is a compulsory module that all students must pass.For ethical purposes, participants were told that they could withdraw from the study at any moment and that the information they gave would be kept anonymous and confidential.Similarly, pseudonyms were used to represent research participants and the research site.As such, the sample for the study consisted of 359 mathematics student teachers -as shown in table 1 below.
fromChoy, Yim, and Tan's (2017) Reflective Thinking Practices for Teachers Questionnaire (RTTQ).The questionnaire has twenty-eight(28)    items in which sixteen (16) items were used to test the present study's construct: "life-long learning skills" (4 items), "self-assessment ability" (4 items), "selfbelief" (4 items), and "teaching awareness" (4 items) (p.5).The RTTQ was modified for mathematics student teachers in a South African university to be able to grasp the items.The RTTQ consisted of two parts: items related to demographic information and those related to reflective thinking practices.The questionnaire was subjected to validation by three mathematics education experts for content appropriateness in which feedback was incorporated.To ensure language appropriateness, the questionnaire was subjected to a pilot study on 188 participants, and the feedback was also incorporated.The questionnaire was thereafter administered to the sampled participants, and descriptive statistical analysis (measures of frequencies) was conducted on the responses that has adequately been completed and returned.need to look into new strategies to deliver their lessons better so that they can remain relevant now and in the future.Findings further revealed that when mathematics student teachers are faced with mistakes, only 25 percent of female participants and 12 percent of male participants try to make corrections and learn from their experiences to move forward.In terms of reflection on what participants must do during the lesson to enrich their teaching strategies, only 22 percent of the female participants and 41 percent of male participants highlighted that they get inspired by other colleagues to incorporate their current strategy with a new and more effective one.In addition, 17 percent of female participants and 14 percent of male participants emphasized that they know their strengths and weakness.As such, they constantly practice to be more effective in their lesson.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Impact of lifelong learning skills on reflective thinking practices

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Impact of self-assessment ability on reflective thinking

Figure 3
Figure 3 below revealed that 22 percent and 17 percent of female and male participants, respectively, believe in the need to take care of their own needs before they can take care of others.Findings also revealed that 26 percent of female participants and 24 percent of male participants believe in the need to look for areas of connectivity between what and how they teach in relation to their life experiences.While only 11 percent of females felt that their mistakes in class might influence students' lives, 21 percent of male participants held a similar view.In addition, 41 percent of the female participants and 38 percent of male participants believe in student feedback as a means for critical evaluation of reflective thinking practices.

Figure 3 :
Figure 3: Impact of self-belief on reflective thinking

Figure 4 :
Figure 4: Impact of teaching awareness on reflective thinking

Table 1 :
Profile of the study participants