Teaching Proficiency and Preparedness of Pre-service Secondary Mathematics Teachers: its Implications to Actual Practice

Abstract

Teacher training institutions in the Philippines offering Bachelor of Science in Education major in Mathematics like the MUST aimed to produce globally competitive graduates ready for the challenge in becoming the next breed of excellent secondary mathematics educators in the field. However, are the prospective secondary mathematics teachers indeed ready for the challenge? This study would answer this question aimed at identifying the level of competence of these soon-to-be mathematics teachers. It would attempt to examine the pre-service mathematics subject matter knowledge (SMK), expertise in lesson planning activities, classroom management skills, instructional strategies and motivation, communication and questioning skills and professionalism from the cooperating teachers (CT’s) perspective. Data collected were analyzed using frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Result revealed that the level of SMK of the prospective mathematics teachers was proficient and the rest of the competence indicators were on the approaching proficiency level which implies that although they were proficient with mathematics content, these prospective mathematics teachers are not fully equipped with all the necessary teaching skills. The trainings they received from the university during their academic years was adequate but not sufficient. The researcher then recommends that the university may consider designing an intensive professional development training program to be included in the curriculum for these prospective mathematics teachers before they will be deployed in the field.