Abstract:
This study examined Junior High School mathematics teachers’ perception and use of the
principles of constructivism in the Effutu Municipality of the Central Region, Ghana.
This study used the descriptive survey research design and adopted a mixed method
approach to data analysis and presentation. The purposive sampling technique was used
to sample one hundred and thirty-eight (138) JHS mathematics teachers for the study.
Instruments such as documents, a structured questionnaire and an interview guide served
as tools for data collection. Data collected through these instruments were further
analysed as follows: documents were analysed using content analysis; responses from the
structured questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard
deviation and simple percentages; while responses from the interview were transcribed
and analysed thematically. Also, the hypothesis for the study was tested using the
Pearson product-moment correlation analysis. The study revealed that, contrary to the
view that teachers in the basic school employ teacher centred methods of instruction, JHS
mathematics teachers in the Effutu Municipality of the Central Region always employed
the constructivist principles of learning in their classroom instructions which is a child
centred approach and has been proven to maximize learning outcome. It again revealed
JHS mathematics teachers’ in the Effutu municipality had a positive perception about
constructivism and that their perception of constructivism influenced their classroom
instruction. The study also revealed that majority of the teachers had not attended any
form of in-service training while others had not received any form of education on
constructivism. It was thus recommended that the Ministry of Education (MoE) in
collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) establish clear policies to ensure
and guide the professional development of teachers of mathematics so as to keep them
abreast with modern theories of education, such as the constructivist theory of learning as
well as effective methods of lesson delivery.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Basic Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Master of Philosophy in Basic Education
OCTOBER, 2017