Examining J.H.S mathematics teachers’ perception and use of the principles of constructivism in the Effutu Municipality

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.