Mathematics Teachers’ Beliefs and Instructional Practices in Sekyere South, Ghana: Moderating Roles of Teacher and School Factors

Abstract

This study examined associations between mathematics teachers’ beliefs and self-reported instructional practices and assessed whether teacher characteristics and school conditions moderated these associations. A cross-sectional census survey included 99 mathematics teachers across eight public Senior High and Senior High/Technical Schools in Sekyere South District, Ghana. Data were collected using an expert-reviewed questionnaire measuring beliefs about mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning, social-constructivist and transmission-oriented instructional practices, perceived resource adequacy and instructional leadership/support. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlations and multiple regression models with interaction terms were employed. The moderation models incorporated school fixed effects and HC3 robust standard errors. Stronger learner-centred and problem-solving beliefs were positively associated with social-constructivist practice (r = .381, p < .001) and negatively associated with transmission-oriented practice (r = −.452, p < .001). Teaching experience, gender, class size and perceived instructional leadership/support significantly moderated the belief–social-constructivist practice association. Gender and instructional leadership/support also moderated the association with transmission-oriented practice. Although class size and perceived resource adequacy significantly moderated transmission-oriented practice in the primary models, these effects were less stable in sensitivity analyses. The postgraduate qualification interaction for social-constructivist practice did not meet the specified significance threshold. The findings indicate that associations between teachers’ beliefs and reported instructional practices vary across professional and school conditions. Efforts to support learner-centred mathematics instruction should therefore consider both pedagogical beliefs and the circumstances in which teachers work.