Resources Available for Teaching Mathematics in Senior High Schools in the Western Region of Ghana

Abstract

The study investigated teaching and learning resources available for teaching mathematics at the Senior High School (SHS) level in the Western region of Ghana. Specifically, it tried to find out the available resources and if they differ among the school categories, the state of the available resources, teachers’ access to the available resources and the difference in the use of the resources across sex, academic qualification and school categories. The study used pragmatist paradigm approach mainly through Mixed-Methods Explanatory Sequential design. Eighty-four mathematics teachers and 16 store keepers were used for the study. A total of ten teachers were observed and interviewed in the qualitative phase. The study, however, found that the resources available for teaching mathematics in the Senior High Schools were mathematics syllabus, textbooks, library books, mathematical set for students, calculators, marker board drawing instruments, classrooms, furniture, and marker board. The extent to which the resources were available in the schools was low and there was no significant difference in their availability among the school categories. Further, the available resources were old and not all the parts were in good condition or working well. Although the result of the study indicated teachers acknowledged the positive effect of resource use on teaching of mathematics, yet they had little access to the available resources. Further, it was revealed that mathematics teachers do not use resources too often. A Kruskal Wallis test revealed that mathematics teachers differ in the use of resources in teaching mathematics across school categories, (H(3) = 26.82, p = 0.000).