Date of Award

12-2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Supervisor/Advisor

Dr. Geoff Tennant

Second Supervisor/Advisor

Dr. Peter Kajoro

Department

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Abstract

The affective domain has lately drawn the attention of mathematics research community. A key finding from the research literature is that an individual’s efficacy, that is, the belief in their ability to overcome challenges and bring about the desired results can influence one’s motivation to embark on the task and invest time and resources. This study examines teachers’ beliefs about their mathematics teaching efficacy which is rarely studied in Africa including Kenya. The field work was based on a sample of primary school teachers in Voi Sub-County. The study employed a sequential mixed method approach in which a survey was first conducted using a survey instrument, Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument. The results of the survey were used to select three participants with high mathematics teaching efficacy for classroom observation and interviews. The majority of the teachers have a moderately high or high sense of mathematics teaching efficacy. Teachers who had recently joined the profession and those with a lower qualification registered higher teaching efficacy than their counterparts with more teaching experience and higher qualifications. Male teachers reported a higher mathematics teaching efficacy than females. The findings of this study signal a need to institutionalize support programmes for newly qualified teachers. In addition it is important for schools to offer support to teachers to enhance their classroom practices. A further longitudinal study is recommended to establish the sources from which the teachers develop their efficacy beliefs.

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