International Journal of Allied Sciences (IJAS)

EFFECTS OF REMEDIAL TEACHING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN CALCULUS IN THE EDUCATION COLLEGES IN GHANA

Authors

  • Dr. Zutaah Puotier Department of Mathematics and ICT Education, Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong-Akuapem, Ghana

Abstract

Calculus is one of the highest intellectual achievements globally and is a major way for pre-service teachers to move into the fields that will empower the economy of the 21st century. However, more than 30% of students in Ghanaian tertiary education institutions fail calculus courses each year. This is vital for mathematics educators to improve the success of students and find ways to increase calculus achievement by pre-service teachers. This study aimed to investigate the performance of basic pre-service mathematics teachers in calculus in colleges of education in Ghana. Furthermore, the study assessed gender differences in the performance of basic education pre-service teachers in calculus. The researcher used a short case study design. Purposive sampling was used to select 92 (72 males and 20 females) pre-service teachers from 493. Findings indicate that preservice teachers performed well in calculus. Although the study indicates no significant difference between the performance of male and female pre-service teachers in calculus, the male pre-service teachers outperformed their female counterparts. The study concludes that the use of remedial teaching can enhance the academic performance of pre-service mathematics teachers in calculus. The study recommends that mathematics teachers allocate more time for teaching and learning calculus at the college level.

Keywords:

Mathematics, Calculus, Pre-service teachers, Remedial teaching, College of Education.

Published

2025-09-30

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17233550

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Zutaah , P. (2025). EFFECTS OF REMEDIAL TEACHING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN CALCULUS IN THE EDUCATION COLLEGES IN GHANA. International Journal of Allied Sciences (IJAS), 16(9), 31–47. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17233550

References

Antecol, H., Eren, O., & Ozbeklik, S. (2015). Effect of teacher gender on student achievement in primary schools. Journal of Labor Economics, 33(1), 63-89. https://doi.org/10.1086/677391https://doi.org/10.1086/677391

Arhin, A. K., & Koryoe, A. (2015). Gender differences and mathematics achievement of senior high school students: A case study of Ghana National College. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(33), 67–74.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research methods in education (Seventh Edition). Routledge.

Dawkins, P. C., & Epperson, J. A. M. (2014). Development and nature of problem-solving among first-semester calculus students. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 45(6), 839-862. DOI: 10.1080/0020739X.2014.884645

Ellis, J., Fosdick, B. K., & Rasmussen, C. (2016). Women are 1.5 times more likely to leave the STEM pipeline after calculus compared to men: Lack of mathematical confidence is a potential culprit. PLoS ONE, 11(7), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0157447

Emmanuel, K. S., Joshua, K. S., Alex, O., & Leonard, K. E. (2021). Effective application of maple software to reduce errors in integral calculus by student teachers. African Journal of Mathematics and Statistics Studies, 4(3), 64-78. https//: 10.52589/AJMSS%02WRFGFPIH.

Felson, R. B., & Trudeau, L. (2016). Gender differences in mathematics performance. Social Psychology Quarterly, 54(2), 113-126. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2786930. Accessed December 20, 2021.

Ganley, C. (2018). Are boys better than girls at math? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-boys-better-than-girls-at-math/.

Garba, S. A. (2014). Mathematics anxiety among engineering students and its relationship with calculus achievement. International Journal of Psychology and Counseling, 6(1), 10-13. https://doi.org/10.5897/ijpc2013.0219https://doi.org/10.5897/ijpc2013.0219

García-García, J., & Dolores-Flores, C. (2021). Exploring the mathematical connections of pre-University students when solving calculus application problems. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 52(6), 912-936. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2020.1729429

Isiksal, M. (2015). Mathematical self-efficacy beliefs: What is the role of gender and year in pre-service teachers’ performance in their University coursework and mathematical self-efficacy beliefs: What is the role of gender and year in the program ? January 2005.

Kindle, J., & Gentimis T. (2018). Florida poly primers: Calculus Florida poly primers: Calculus PRIMUS, 0(0), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2017.1388320

Kotsopoulos, D., Weatherby, C., Woolford, D. G., & Kotsopoulos, D. (2021). Using guided notes to support learning in first-year calculus. International Journal of Mathematical Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2021.1910742

Leng, N. W., & Ming, T. K. (2017). A retrospective study on the effects of flipping a calculus course December, 15-19.

Likwambe, B., Naidoo, J. (2018). Exploring mathematical activities and dialogue within a pre-service calculus module for teachers: A case study. [University of Kwa-Zulu Natal]

Machromah, I. U., Purnomo, M. E. R., & Sari, C. K. (2019). Learning calculus with GeoGebra in college. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1180(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1180/1/012008https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1180/1/012008

McKinney, T., & Dibbs, R. (2021). Performance in calculus II for students in clear calculus: A causal comparative study.4(1).

Misu, L., Budayasa, I. K., & Lukito, A. (2018). Profile of metacognition of mathematics pre-service teachers in understanding the concept of integral calculus regarding gender differences. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 947(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/947/1/012057https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/947/1/012057

Mugenda, O. M., & Mugenda, A. G. (2019). Research methods: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods (Third Edition). Center for Innovative Leadership & Governance. Email: info@cligafrica.org

Özüdoğru, M., & Aksu, M. (2020). Pre-service teachers’ achievement and perceptions of the classroom environment in flipped learning and traditional instruction classes. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 36(4), 27-43. https://doi.org/10.14742/AJET.5115

Rasmussen, C., Marrongelle, K., & Borba. M. C. (2014). Research on calculus: What do we know and where do we need to go? ZDM Mathematics Education, 46, 507-515. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11858-014-0615-x

Saparwadi, L., Sa'dijah C., As'ari, A., & Chandra, T. (2019). Reversible thinking ability in calculus learning using Maple Software: A case study of mathematics education students. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 8 (1C2), 695-700.

Schnell, S., Prediger, S. (2017). Mathematics enrichment for all: Noticing and enhancing the mathematical potential of economically exploited students as an equity issue. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(1), 143-165. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00609a

Sebsibe, A. S., & Feza, N. N. (2020). Assessment of students’ conceptual knowledge in the limit of functions. 15(2).

Tatira, B. (2021). Pre-service teachers’ construction of the application of first-order differential equations through task-based interviews.

Thompson, P. W., & Dreyfus, T. (2017). Coherent approach to the fundamental theorem of calculus using differentials. Kkhdm Conference 2015, 154-158. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rolf-Biehler/publication/352778260_Didactics_of_Mathematics_in_Higher_Education_as_a_Scientific_Discipline_Conference_Proceedings/links/60d84ef8a6fdccb745ea1899/Didactics-of-Mathematics-in-Higher-Education-as-a-Scienti

Toh, T. L., Toh, P. C., Teo, K. M., & Zhu, Y. (2022). Pre-service teachers’ content knowledge of school calculus: An exploratory study. European Journal of Mathematics and Science Education, 3(2), 91-103. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmse.3.2.91https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmse.3.2.91

Toh, T. L., Toh, P. C. S., Teo, K. M., & Zhu, Y. (2021). Preservice teachers’ performance on two calculus tasks on differentiation and limit. European Journal of Mathematics and Science Education, 1(2). Available from: http://www.ejmse.com

USA. (n.d.). How many students fail calculus? https://compscicentral.com/is-calculus-hard/, Retrieved on 6th December 2021

Usman, B. R. M., Hasbi, S. M., & Mardhiah, M. Z. (2020). Calculus learning beliefs and students’ understanding of the limit of functions: A case study. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1462(1). https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1462/1/012024https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1462/1/012024

Vestal, S. S., Brandenburger, T., & Furth, A. (2015). Improving student success in calculus I using a co-requisite calculus I laboratory. Primus, 25(4), 381-387. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511970.2014.992561

Wade, C. H., Sonnert, G., Wilkens, C. P., & Sadler, P. M., (2017). High school preparation for college calculus: Is the story the same for men and women? The High School Journal, 100(4), 250-263. https://doi.org/10.1353/hsj.2017.0011

Wahab, A. S. A., Chinnappan, M., Yerizon, T. N. M., & Retnowati, E. (2021). Effects of learning integrals and their application using Ti-Nspire Cx graphing calculators on mathematics pre-service teachers’ mathematical reasoning. Review of International Geographical Education Online, 11(4), 881-890. DOI: 10.33403/rigeo.8006802

Wijaya, A., & Asnawati, R. (2018). The solving of calculus problem based on Polya’s steps: An investigation on pre-service teachers with low self-efficacy. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3248150

Yimer, S. T., & Feza, N. N. (2019). Learners’ conceptual knowledge development and attitudinal change toward calculus using jigsaw co-operative learning strategy integrated with GeoGebra: Applied mathematics. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 15(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/5936

Zutaah, P., Miheso-O'Connor, M. K., & Ondigi, S. R. (2022). Pre-service teachers’ performance in geometry in the colleges of education, Ghana. Journal of the European Teacher Education Network, 23-47. https://etenjournal.com/2022/06/20/3307/

Similar Articles

<< < 3 4 5 6 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.