Quality Instruction through four Components of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) and Teaching Experience in Fiji

Abstract

The rationale of this study is to find out what could be some contributing factors to low achievement in Mathematics for primary school students. For this study, the focus is to ascertain the current state of MKT for Primary School Mathematics Teachers in Fiji schools in terms of its four components: Knowledge of Content and Students (KCS); Knowledge of Content and Teaching (KCT); Common Content Knowledge (CCK); and Specialized Content Knowledge (SCK) Hill et al. (2008), with respect to teachers’ Teaching Experience (TE). The study was conducted using descriptive survey with stratified random sampling using Krejie & Morgan’s sample size Table in which of 363 primary school teachers participated. Sampling included a stratum from each of the four major education divisions: Northern, Central, Western, and Eastern. An MKT test was used as a tool to compare teachers' MKT levels with respect to teacher’s TE, and one-way ANOVA was used to quantitatively analyze the data. Findings from this study revealed that all the four components of MKT have a significant difference with respect to teachers’ TE.