Reasoning-and-proving in mathematics textbooks for prospective elementary teachers

In the United States, elementary teachers (grades 1-5 or 6, ages 6-11 years) typically have weak knowledge of reasoning-and-proving, and may have few opportunities to learn about this important activity after they complete their teacher education program. In this study we explored how reasoning-and-proving is treated in the 16 extant textbooks written for mathematics courses for future elementary teachers in the United States to offer insight into the opportunities designed for them to develop knowledge about reasoning-and-proving. Our findings suggest that reasoning-and-proving is rarely addressed explicitly in these textbooks. Although many textbooks have one section or several sections in a single chapter (often the opening chapter) with content about reasoning-and-proving, references to reasoning-and-proving concepts and methods are rare outside of these few sections. We discuss methodological issues in studying the treatment of reasoning-and-proving in textbooks for teachers and implications of our findings for future research and teacher education.