PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ COMPETENCIES AND USE OF ICT IN MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION

Timothy M Akintayo; Mariam A Adebayo; Afeez .O. Oyediran

Timothy M. Akintayo Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Mariam A. Adebayo Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Afeez O. Oyediran Department of Science and Technology Education Faculty of Education, Lagos state University, Ojo Lagos State

Abstract

A significant criticism of the pre-service teacher education program is that it fails to prepare pre-service teachers to effectively use ICT in the delivery of mathematics instruction in the classroom. Even worse, ICT reforms in Nigeria mainly focus on providing ICT infrastructure and combating other barriers to ICT use rather than creating a blend between pedagogy, content knowledge and ICT competence. Considering this, the study considered student-teachers lived experiences with ICT courses taken in their teacher education program. A mixed-method approach consisting of quantitative and qualitative instruments, including questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, was used to obtain the necessary data to cover all the research questions and objectives, covering 150 pre-service teachers and 165 senior secondary school students using purposive sampling. The study concluded that the benefits of using ICT in the classroom are not conceivable without the pre-service teachers being equipped with ICT competence. Therefore, it was recommended that the teacher education program should furnish its curriculum with courses teaching pre-service teachers how to use the latest ICT innovations in the delivery of mathematics instruction right from their teaching practice.