Impact of Teachers' Instructional Practices On Students' Achievement and Self-Efficacy in Mathematics

The study investigated the impact of teachers’ instructional practices on students’ achievement and self-efficacy in Mathematics. The study specifically examined the impact of instructional practices namely: communication of clear learning objectives, collaborative learning experiences, use of manipulatives, teaching with technology and use of formative assessment on the achievement and self-efficacy of students in Mathematics. Descriptive survey research and ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consists of Senior Secondary School Three (SSS3) students registered in public secondary schools Ekiti State, Nigeria. A total of 600 Senior Secondary School Three (SSS3) students were sampled through stratified random sampling technique from the three senatorial districts of Ekiti State. Two research questions and two hypotheses were postulated for the study. Two research instruments namely; Student’s Questionnaire on Mathematic Teacher’s Practices (SQMTP) and Students Mathematics Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SMSEQ) were used for collection of data for the study. The instruments were duly validated by one subject specialists and three experts in educational measurement and evaluation. An internal consistency coefficient of 0.84 for SQMTP and 0.86 for SMSEQ was obtained using Cronbach alpha method. Regression analysis was carried out on the data gathered. The result of the study revealed that all the teachers’ instructional practices considered namely; communication of clear learning objectives, collaborative learning experiences, use of manipulatives, teaching with technology and use of formative assessment significantly influence students’ achievement and self-efficacy in Mathematics. The use of formative assessment had the highest contribution to the achievement and self-efficacy of students in Mathematics. Based on the results of the study, it was recommended among others that teachers should consistently use these instructional practices; communication of clear learning objectives, collaborative learning experiences, use of manipulatives, teaching with technology and use of formative assessment in the course of teaching Mathematics.

Keywords: Instructional practices, achievement, self-efficacy,