Pre-Service Teachers' Mathematics Achievement and Content Competence in the K to 6 Basic Education Program

Abstract

This study ascertained the pre-service teachers’ (PTs) Mathematics content competence (MCC) of the common content knowledge (CCK) and specialized content knowledge (SCK) emphases of the K to 6 Basic Education Program (BEP) and the relationship between MCC and mathematics achievement among the seventy-eight randomly chosen Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) major in General Education(GenEd) PTs. MCC data were obtained using a researcher-made instrument which was subjected to validation and reliability testing (Cronbach’s alpha =0.978). Mathematics achievement data were obtained using the PTs’ records from the Registrar’s Office. The statistical analyses employed in the study were mean, SD, and Spearman’s rho. The findings revealed that the PTs had good MCC in CCK while poor MCC in SCK emphases of the K to 6 BEP and showed very good mathematics achievements. A significant relationship was found between the PTs’ mathematics achievement and MCC in the CCK emphases of the K to 6 BEP. Therefore, the PTs showed competence in the basic concepts and procedures of elementary mathematics. However, they had inadequate competence needed in the actual effective teaching of the discipline. Moreover, the more mathematics content and procedures they had learned from their teacher education program, the better were their MCC in the CCK emphases of the K to 6 Program. The findings from this study have implications for faculty development as well as for future research.