The Analysis of Nigerian Physics Teachers’Knowledge for Teaching :Focused on Motion

Abstract

This study investigated the knowledge for teaching of Nigerian secondary school Physics teachers focused on motion. The study examined 119 participants from Government and private secondary schools in Keffi and Karu Local Government of Nasarawa State, Nigeria.
 Data were collected and analyzed to address the research questions based on common content knowledge, specialized content knowledge, knowledge of content and students, and knowledge of content and teaching. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 20. The study revealed that out of the four components of knowledge for teaching examined by this study, the teachers displayed some level of adequacy in common content knowledge and knowledge of content and teaching. The teachers performed below average in specialized content knowledge and knowledge of content and students. The study shows statistically significant difference between professional (certified) and non-professional (non-certified) PKT in favor of the professional teachers. Also, significant difference was found between the mean PKT score of teachers with varied teaching experience in favor of teachers with over 5 years of experience.