Perception of secondary school science and mathematics teachers on Professional development participation in Zamfara State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study adopted a descriptive survey design to examine the perception of secondary school science and mathematics teachers on professional development in Zamfara State, Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of all Science and Mathematics teachers in public secondary schools in Zamfara State. A sample of 217 respondents were drawn through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Four research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics and z-test. The study revealed that science and mathematics teachers in Zamfara State have low level of awareness on the various types of professional development programmes and have not been participating in the programmes. They ascribed these to the lack of incentives, lack of employer support, too expensive/unaffordable and poor publicity. They also identified content knowledge and pedagogy of teaching as the two major areas they needed professional development. The two groups of teachers have no significant difference on the areas they needed professional development as well as on the barriers impeding their participation. The study recommended among others that, government should regularly sponsor teachers to attend professional development programmes and that teachers should explore and take advantage of numerous free professional development opportunities.