Differences in Mathematics Teachers’ Perceived Preparedness to Demonstrate Competence in Secondary School Mathematics Content by Teacher Characteristics

Abstract

A sample of 300 mathematics teachers drawn from a population of 1500 participated in this study. The participants were selected using systematic random sampling and stratified random sampling (stratified by qualification and gender). The data was collected using self-report questionnaires for mathematics teachers.  One tool was used to collect data; Teachers Preparedness Questionnaire (TPQ) for mathematics. The instruments were validated by experts in the department of Curriculum, Instruction and Education Management. The instruments were pilot tested and reliability coefficient was calculated and found to be 0.83, which is above the required threshold coefficient of 0.70, Cronbach alpha in social science research. The collected data was analysed using both descriptive (means and percentages) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and t-test) to establish differences in teacher’s perceived preparedness to demonstrate competence to implement secondary school mathematics content by Teaching Experience, qualification and Gender. To establish whether there were statistically significant differences in mathematics teachers’ perceived preparedness by qualification, ANOVA was used. The hypotheses were tested at coefficient Alpha (α) level of 0.05. The test of differences show that there is a statistically significant difference in teachers’ perceived preparedness to implement secondary school mathematics content by teaching experience; however there is no statistically significant difference by teacher qualification and gender. Keywords: Mathematics Content, Teaching Experience, Qualification, Gende