European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 8, Number 2 (2009)
Assesing Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Development Needs Effandi Zakaria Department of Methodology and Educational Practice Faculty of Education, Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia E-mail: effandi@ukm.my Tel: +60389216279; Fax:+60389254372 Md Yusoff Daud Department of Educational Foundation, Faculty of Education Universiti Kebagsaan Malaysia E-mail: myd@ukm.my Tel: -60389216053; Fax:+60389254372 Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived professional needs of mathematics teachers in selected Malaysian secondary schools. A set of questionnaires of a Modified Mathematics Teacher Inventory of Needs was distributed to school teachers. These teachers were asked to report their perceived needs. The items in the questionnaires were divided into six categories, namely materials, new knowledge, methods of teaching, teaching marginal students, technology use and measurement. Descriptive statistics were employed in this study. Analysis of data revealed that the highest rated perceived needs were related to ICT usage, followed by delivery of mathematics concepts and remediation of low achievers. The least preferred perceived needs were related to selection of new text book, developing an instructional plan and updating content knowledge. These findings and results were discussed in relation to existing literature and the supporting ideas. Finally, limitations of this study were pointed out, implications for professional development were presented and recommendations for future studies were made.
Keywords: Mathematics Teacher, Needs, Professional Development
1. Introduction Experience around the world in developing, industrialized, and information-based countries has shown that professional development is the key determining factor for improved student performance. Professional development is a critical component of mathematics education reform. Effective professional development experiences are designed to help teachers build new understanding of teaching and learning (Hea-Jin Lee, 2001). To be effective, professional development must provide teachers with a way to directly apply what they learn to their teaching (Resnick, 2005). Garret et al. (2001) found that teachers were more likely to change their instructional practices and gain greater subject knowledge and improved teaching skills when their professional development linked directly to their daily experiences and aligned with standards and assessments. According to Palmer (1978), staff development is a means to develop better teachers by improving their knowledge, by providing ways to help them enhance their effectiveness in the classrooms, and by instilling in them the desire to a better job of teaching. He further stated that to accomplish these goals, staff development programs should be 225
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 8, Number 2 (2009) designed and planned to satisfy teachers’ needs. There is some indication that professional development that focuses on specific mathematics and science content and ways students learn such content is especially helpful, particularly for instruction designed to improve students’ conceptual understanding (Cohen & Hill, 1998; Fennema et al., 1996). In general, research suggests that high quality teacher development education (Westchester Institute For Human Services Research, 2008), • is integrated with district goals to improve; • is guided by a coherent long-term plan; • is driven by disaggregated data on student outcomes; • is designed according to teacher-identified needs; • is primarily school-based; • provides a strong foundation in subject content and methods of teaching; • is informed by research on teaching and learning; • is designed around collaborative problem-solving; • enables teachers to work with colleagues, in and beyond their school building; • is continuous and ongoing, providing follow-up support for further learning; • incorporates principles of adult learning; • provides sufficient time and other resources; • is evaluated ultimately on the basis of its impact on teacher effectiveness and studentlearning. Good teachers form the foundation of good schools, and improving teachers’skills and knowledge is one of the most important investments of time and money that local, state, and national leaders make in education. (Resnick, 2005) The concept of need has diverse interpretations. In the literature ‘need’ appears to be used interchangeably between a discrepancy, a recognized problem, the requirement for more services, and the wants of people (Stufflebeam et al. 1985; Packwood & Whitaker, 1988). For this study, need is defined in terms of want or preferences of an individual or a group of people. Need in this context is seen as a want (which implies interest or motivation), felt by an individual or group to eliminate a lack (Queeney, 1995; Stufflebeam et al. 1985). Most Malaysian believe that teacher quality is one of the most important determinants for school improvement and agree that the quality of education cannot be improved without improving the quality of teachers. The current emphasis on quality education requires that the teaching force be competent in the delivery of the curriculum (SEAMEO Innotech, 2008). The need to improve professionally is necessary for mathematics teachers in order to provide an adequate learning environment and preparing students for future lives in today’s fast-paced world. Teachers also need to keep abreast with new knowledge and skills in order to be effective teachers. Most educators believe that pre-service training cannot of itself be expected to prepare teachers fully to meet rising expectations occasioned by the rapidly changing social, economic and educational environment (OECD, 1998). Thus, it is critical to update the knowledge and competencies of mathematics teacher. Most of the teachers relied on in-service programs for enhancing their skills. However, many teachers expressed dissatisfaction about the usefulness of staff development program, teachers are not typically involved in the planning process and it is unusual to find that a needs assessment study was conducted prior to in-service training. According to Baird and Rowsy (1989), high quality in-service programs should be designed if teachers were to benefit from it. The effort of the Ministry of Education to provide quality teacher training and in-service courses is laudable. The Ministry of Education has systematically planned over the years to upgrade the professional competence of teachers through inservice training (SEAMEO Innotech, 2008). According to Dhamotharan (2002), each time a new curriculum is implemented, teachers are expected to interpret and use the new curriculum as espoused in the original document. The Malaysian solution to such major changes has been a very top-down approach (Dhamotharan, 2002). Zakaria and Iksan (2007) suggested that in-service programs should be directed toward meeting the needs of teachers. Therefore, identification of these perceived needs is crucial for teachers. There is few literature concerning mathematics teachers’ perceived needs. 226
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 8, Number 2 (2009) However, it must be noted that needs study may have been conducted by the various department of the Ministry of Education, but are unavalaible to the reseacher. The resulting database should be useful in planning in-service program for mathematics teachers. The researcher hopes that the data collected will provide insight into the needs of mathematics teacher, so that an effective in-service training program can be implemented.
2. Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify specific professional needs of mathematics teachers. The objectives for the study were to: 1. describe the demographic profile of the mathematics teachers 2. identify and describe the most preferred perceived professional needs of mathematics teachers. 3. identify and describe the least preferred perceived professional needs of mathematics teachers.
3. Methods and Procedures The sample for this study was sample of convenience from school teachers graduating from the Faculty of Education, University Kebangsaan Malaysia (N=72). The teachers volunteered to be involved in the study. All of the respondents were mathematics teachers. The survey of needs instrument used in this study was modified from Mathematics Teacher Inventory of Needs (Easterday & Smith, 1992) and Science Teacher Inventory Needs (Zurub & Rubba, 1983; Kamariah & Rohani, 1995). The instrument includes 31 items that were divided into six categories, namely (a) materials (b) new knowledge (c) methods of teaching (d) teaching marginal students (e) technology usage (f) measurement. Some of the items added were based on a consideration of studies of teacher needs. A panel of experts was asked to review the instrument for content and face validity. To enhance the validity of the instrument, the instrument was pilot tested with a group of 10 teachers from one school. Teachers were asked to comment on any unclear questions and indicate how long it took to complete the survey. Participants took between ten to fifteen minutes to complete the survey, and no concerns were expressed as to the specific items. The teachers were asked to indicate the extend to which they needed assistance with particular issue by using one of four alternative responses: low need, moderate need, high need or very high need. The instrument also contained sections related to the demographic information. The final instrument was administered using the online web-based survey. All teachers completed the survey.
4. Analysis of Data Statistical data were coded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 15.0). Descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, and standard deviations) were used to analyze data. Ranking of means were used to determine the most and least pressing perceived needs of teachers.
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European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 8, Number 2 (2009)
5. Results and discussion Table 1:
Demographic summary
Variables Gender
Categories Male Female Bachelor’s Degree Master’s Degree 1-3 years 4-6 years 7-9 years 10 years and above
Level of Education Teaching Experience
N 13 59 57 15 6 12 22 32
% 18.1% 81.9% 79.2% 20.8% 8.3% 16.7% 30.6% 44.4%
Table 1 contains a demographic summary of teachers who responded. The respondents were 13 male (18.1%) and 59 female (81.9%) teachers and the most common academic degree held was a bachelors degree (79.2%), followed by a masters degree (20.8%). Twenty five percent had less than seven years of mathematics teaching experience compare to 30% of 7-9 years and 44.4% of 10 years and above of teaching experience. Table 2:
Alpha reliabilities coefficient of each factor
Scale Materials Technology usage Measurement New Knowledge Methods of teaching Teaching marginal students
Alpha 0.66 0.68 0.73 0.83 0.89 0.83
Table 2 shows the alpha reliabilities coefficient of each factor. The overall alpha reliability coefficient for the needs instrument was 0.96. The alpha reliability coefficient suggest that the scales have acceptable internal consistency. Table 3: Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ten Most Preferred Needs of Mathematics Teachers Need Integration of ICT into the teaching and learning of mathematics (9) Delivery of mathematics concept to students (29) Provide remediation for low achievers (14) Update knowledge of mathematics -related career opportunities (3) Prepare instructional and learning activities (27) Use test data to diagnose mathematics learning difficulties (12) Select an appropriate instructional strategies (7) Learning new methods of teaching mathematics (2) Methods of motivating students to learn mathematics (1) Update knowledge of applications of mathematics (5)
Mean 3.56 3.55 3.53 3.50 3.50 3.49 3.48 3.44 3.43 3.42
Std. Deviation .55 .62 .65 .71 .65 .69 .60 .73 .77 .67
Table 3 provides an analysis of the needs of teachers, as ranked by the basis of the mean. The top ten most preferred needs included: integration of ICT into the teaching and learning of mathematics (3.56); Delivery of mathematics concept to students (3.55); provide remediation for low achievers (3.53); Update knowledge of mathematics -related career opportunities (3.50); Prepare instructional and learning activities (3.50); Use test data to diagnose mathematics learning difficulties (3.49); Select an appropriate instructional strategies (3.48); Learning new methods of teaching mathematics (3.44); Methods of motivating students to learn mathematics (3.43) and Update knowledge of applications of 228
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 8, Number 2 (2009) mathematics (3.42). Most pressing needs were found in the new knowledge (items 2,3,5), methods of teaching (items 7,27,29), teaching marginal students (items 1,14), technology use (item 9) and measurement (item 12) categories. Table 4: Rank 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Ten Least Preferred Needs of Mathematics Teachers Need Update one’s knowledge in instructional and learning theory (26) Use scientific calculator in mathematics instructions (20) Select supportive materials for mathematics instruction (15) Select an appropriate mathematics software (13) Delivering mathematics instructions in English (24) Use graphic calculator in mathematics instructions (19) Employ individualized instructional strategies (8) Update content knowledge of mathematics (11) Develop an instructional plan for a unit of mathematics (18) Selection of new texbooks (16)
Mean 3.21 3.19 3.15 3.11 3.01 3.00 2.97 2.94 2.93 2.90
Std. Deviation .67 .76 .88 .80 .86 .86 .67 .92 .92 .75
Table 4 provides an analysis of the needs of teachers, as ranked by the basis of the mean. In comparison to the most preffered needs for mathematics teachers (Table 3), the 10 least preffered needs included: selection of new texbooks (2.90); develop an instructional plan for a unit of mathematics (2.93); update content knowledge of mathematics (2.94); employ individualized instructional strategies (2.97); use graphic calculator in mathematics instructions (3.00); delivering mathematics instructions in English (3.01); select an appropriate mathematics software (3.11); select supportive materials for mathematics instruction (3.15); use scientific calculator in mathematics instructions (3.19) and update one’s knowledge in instructional and learning theory (3.21). Least pressing needs were found in the methods of teaching (items 24,18), technology usage (items 20,19), teaching marginal students (item 8), new knowledge (item 26,11) and materials (item 13,15,16) categories. Based on the responses of these mathematics teachers, the teachers in this study expressed greatest need for ICT usage, delivering of mathematics concepts and remediation of low achievers. This may indicate that they were not acquiring relevant skills and knowledge in their current in-service program. The high rankings of the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning was expected since many teachers had not been formally trained to integrate technology into classroom instruction. According to McKenzie (1999), only 20% of teachers were very well prepared to integrate technology in the classroom. A continued program of in-service training can provide teachers with the support they may need in technology usage (Wrigth, Rice & Hildreth, 2001). The finding also concurred with that of Kahn (1990) who found that teachers expressed most concern for working with less able students. The low ranking of selecting new textbook, updating content knowledge and developing an instructional plan were expected since most of the teachers were experienced teachers. The low ranking of needs regarding delivering mathematics instructions in English might indicate that the needs were being addressed. Limitations are inherent in this study. Although students in various institutions of higher education may be likely to share some common concerns, caution must be used in generalizing from the results reported here. This limited generalizability demonstrates the need for institutions to conduct their own needs surveys.
6. Summary and Concluding Remarks The results of these study demonstrated the perceived needs of mathematics teachers in secondary schools. Evidence indicates that some of the needs are being addressed in teacher training programs. This assessment does indicate an interest regarding the use of technology by the respondents. In229
European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 8, Number 2 (2009) service program should focus on technology integration, methods of teaching and remediation of low achievers. The findings from this study could have implications to mathematics teachers. When planning in-service programs consideration should be given to areas of most pressing needs. We should be sensitive to different needs of the teachers. Providing the same program for all teachers may not meet the needs of all teachers. The teacher education program at the university and the Ministry of Education should work together to address the top 10 in-service needs of teachers. The findings of this study also provide directions for further research related to the perceived needs of mathematics teachers and the extent to which the current in-service courses are adequate to the needs of the teachers. Further research, should also look into teacher variables such as age, experience and level of education. A needs assessment research should also be conducted for all pre-service and in-service mathematics teachers. The findings of such research would provide guidelines for pre-service and inservice training planners.
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