Relationship Between Teacher Pedagogical Competence and Students’ Achievement in Mathematics at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education: Implications on Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Students’ achievement scores in Mathematics at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) has remained unsatisfactory over years. This has been linked to low teacher competence. The study sought to examine the relationship between teacher pedagogical competence and students’ achievement in Mathematics at KCSE. The specific objectives of the study were to; (i) determine the pedagogical competence of secondary school teachers in Kenya, (ii) establish the relationship between teacher pedagogical competence and students’ achievement in mathematics at KCSE and (iii) examine the effect of teacher pedagogical competence on students’ achievement at KCSE. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The study involved 238 teachers drawn from 35 secondary schools in Kenya. simple random sampling was used to select schools and teachers. Self-administered questionnaire, observation checklists and FDG schedule were used to collect data. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 26). Qualitative data from interviews and FDGs was analyzed thematically. Findings were presented in tables and figures. The study revealed that teacher competence in involving learners to design teaching and learning aid, use of participatory teaching and learning strategies, constructing tests and examination and creating portfolio for teaching had statistically significant positive correlation with students’ achievement in mathematics. The study also revealed that teacher competence in giving assessment feedback was a strong predictor of students’ achievement in mathematics. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that teacher professional development programmes should focus on enhancing teacher competence in providing assessment feedback.