Examining the use of Manipulative Materials in Teaching Mathematics among Junior High School Teachers in the Seikwa Central Circuit

Abstract

The Ministry of Education (MoE)/Ghana Education Service (GES) require all mathematics teachers to use manipulative materials to teach mathematics in Junior High Schools (JHSs) because they have the potential to demystify learning of the subject. The study was designed to examine the use of manipulative materials in teaching mathematics among junior high school teachers in the Seikwa Central Circuit of the Tain District of the Bono Region. The questionnaire was used to collect data from 15 teachers and 9 headteachers sampled from JHSs in the Seikwa Central Circuit of the Tain district. Descriptive statistical analysis was applied to the quantitative data obtained from the questionnaire. The study showed those teachers use manipulative materials in teaching mathematics in the classroom. Teachers knew the benefits of manipulative materials in learning; two factors challenged their use in the classroom: non-availability and inadequate supply of manipulative materials, and the high cost of preparing some manipulative materials. The study concluded that most JHS teachers in the circuit improvise most of the manipulative materials they use in the classroom since they are not supplied by MOE/GES, NGOs/Philanthropists, Tain district assembly, and PTA/SMC. The study recommended that stakeholders in education in the Seikwa Circuit should boost the supply of manipulative materials and organize periodic in-service training for JHS teachers on the use and development of manipulative materials for teaching mathematics. Lastly, MOE/GES should organize in-service training on the use of problem-solving in teaching mathematics.