BETH A. HERBEL-EISENMANN, SARAH THEULE LUBIENSKI and LATEEFAH ID-DEEN RECONSIDERING THE STUDY OF MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICES: THE IMPORTANCE OF CURRICULAR CONTEXT IN UNDERSTANDING LOCAL AND GLOBAL TEACHER CHANGE ABSTRACT. This paper discusses the case of one teacher, Jackie, whose instructional practices illuminate the importance of textbooks and student/parent expectations in shaping pedagogy. Jackie teaches in the Plainview district, which offers parents and students a choice between a reform-oriented, integrated curriculum (Core Plus) and a more conventional algebra sequence (the University of Chicago series). Each day, Jackie teaches two very different sections of accelerated eighth-grade mathematics using each of these curricular materials. Drawing from students’ survey responses, classroom observations, and teacher interview data, we show ways in which Jackie’s pedagogy differs considerably between the two courses and we shed light on reasons underlying this variation.By examining one teacher who enacts different practices in each of the two curricular contexts, this paper highlights factors that contribute to teachers’ enacted curricula – factors that have been understated in previous mathe- matics education research on teacher development. The study establishes the impor- tance of distinguishing between global and local teacher change, and suggests implications for future studies of teaching and reform. KEY WORDS: contextual factors, enacted or implemented curriculum, reform, teacher change, teacher development, parents INTRODUCTION Over the past twenty years, scholars have studied factors that enable teachers to move from ‘‘traditional’’ to ‘‘reform-oriented’’ forms of mathematics teaching. ‘‘Traditional’’ mathematics teaching is usually typified as ‘‘provid[ing] clear, step-by-step demonstrations of each proce- dure, ...provid[ing] adequate opportunities for students to practice the procedures, and offer[ing] specific corrective support when necessary’’ (Smith III, 1996, p. 390). In contrast, ‘‘reform-oriented’’ teaching – as Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education (2006) 9:313–345 Ó Springer 2006 DOI 10.1007/s10857-006-9012-x