EXPLORING TEACHERS’ PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE IN TEACHING SIMPLE FRACTIONS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Author Name: 1. Mr. Mohammed Atar Alphaa 2. Asso. Prof. Nabie Johnson Michael 3. Mr. Clement Ayarebilla Ali

Volume/Issue: 02/03

Country: Ghana

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: https://www.doi-ds.org/doilink/09.2021-17284886/UIJIR

Affiliation:

1. Mathematics Tutor of Nusrat Jahan Ahamadiyya College of Education, Wa, Ghana.
2. Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.
3. Mathematics Lecturer of University of Education, Winneba, Ghana.

ABSTRACT

The study explored primary school teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge of simple fractions in one municipality in the Upper West Region of Ghana. The sequential explanatory mixed method design was employed to explain the results of the quantitative data in much more detail of the phenomenon. The simple random sampling technique was used to sample 150 (95 males and 55 females) participants from both urban and rural schools for the quantitative phase of the study. Thereafter, a sample of 12 respondents (7 males and 5 females) was purposefully sampled for the qualitative phase of the study. A questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and an observation checklist were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data from the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and percentages), whereas the qualitative data were analysed thematically. Whereas findings from the questionnaire data showed that the teachers perceived themselves to have pedagogical content knowledge, the interview and observation data proved otherwise. The findings of the quantitative analysis revealed that the teachers generally exhibited limited pedagogical content knowledge of simple fractions. Specifically, the observation checklist revealed that teachers used traditional direct lecture approaches. It was, therefore, recommended that in-service training, workshops and continuous professional development be organized for teachers’ to increase their knowledge of and practice in teaching simple fractions.

Key words: Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, Simple Fractions and Mathematical Knowledge