Predictive Validity of Entry Level Mathematics

Knowledge about teaching mathematics remains a contentious issue in the preparation of pre-service teachers in Ghana. This book explored relationships among entry-level mathematical knowledge (ELMK), mathematics content knowledge (MCK) and mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) scores of pre-service teachers in colleges of education (CoEs) in Ghana. The cross-sectional survey design was adopted for this study. A total of 998 pre-service teachers from ten (10) public colleges of education were sampled via multi-stage sampling technique. Structured questionnaire and unstructured observation schedule were used for the survey. This study concluded that, CoEs in Ghana admit pre-service teachers with average but weak grades in ELMK. Therefore, Ghanaian CoEs should structure and introduce PMCK alongside MCK for pre-service teachers. Mathematics tutors in CoEs should organize remedial lessons for pre-service teachers to scale-up their MCK and PMCK that adequately equip them with MKT.