26 An investigation into Economics pre-service teachers’ preparedness to technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for effective Economics instruction

Abstract

Technology in education systems has changed the education curriculum in such a way that Economics pre-service teachers should be acquainted with technological skills in teaching and learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate Economics pre-service teachers’ preparedness in technological and pedagogical content knowledge for effective Economics instruction. Descriptive statistics was adopted. 137 pre-service Economics teachers were sampled using stratified simple random sampling. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were analysed using mean, percentages and charts. The study reveals that Economics pre-service teachers lack technological skills. Thus, there is no statistically significant difference between male and female Economics pre-service teachers and their TPACK preparedness. The study recommends that lecturers should frequently apply technological innovative pedagogical skills during instruction in higher institutions to enable the Economics pre-service teachers to be updated with the current trend in the education system in order to improve borderless learning.

Keywords: Economics, technology knowledge, pedagogy knowledge, content knowledge, pre-service teachers

Introduction

The invention of technology in the education system requires Economics pre-service teachers to be acquainted with the methods and skills of its utilization in teaching and learning for effective delivery of instruction. Therefore, Economics pre-service teachers should know how to integrate technological pedagogical content knowledge in their teaching and learning for a positive outcome. The study of Economics educates students on how to deal with economic problems that face individuals in a society and policies needed to find possible solutions to these economic problems.

Teaching and learning seems to be difficult to some teachers since the introduction of technology in the education industry. The skills involved in teaching and learning at this present time when compared with that of ten years ago are not the same due to the availability of technologies and computer gadgets (Khalid, Karim & Husnin, 2018). Some of these technological devices are supplied by the State Government in some secondary schools but the problem could be the utilization of it. Khalid, Karim, and Husnin (2018, p.1467) further stated that “this led to a more competitive, knowledgeable, creative and innovative workforce, leading to increased investment in education, training and research and development.”

Teachers are the source of different kinds of strategies, technologies, methods, and materials employed in teaching and learning (Simsek, 2020). There is a need for them to have the knowledge of technology for effective classroom instruction. Apau (2017, p.167) emphatically said that “classroom instruction is not only dependent on the extent and pedagogical knowledge of the teacher but also on the technological knowledge of the teacher and his or her ability to use technologies such as wikis, blogs, and YouTube videos for instructional related purposes in and out of the classroom”.

Furthermore, some of the teacher education programmes are concern more with the development of pedagogical content knowledge than technological skills. Tantrarungroj and Suwannatthachote (2012) observed that teacher education programmes dwelt on equipping student-teachers with the pedagogical content knowledge, skills, and attitude needed for the teaching and learning process. In line with the above statement, Clark (2013) stated that educators in this technological era should design their educational changes both academically and technologically to move along with the trend.

Economics pre-service teachers are students’ teachers preparing themselves to be professional teachers that inculcate knowledge to the learners by integrating technological skills, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge into the teaching and learning process. Khalid, Karim, and Husnin (2018) observed that the introduction of technology in the education system has resulted in a more competitive, knowledgeable, creative, and innovative workforce which leads to increase investment in education, training, and research and development. This implies that Economics pre-service teachers should shift from a conventional way of teaching to an approach involving the integration of technology with content and pedagogical knowledge. This corroborates with Reigeluth (2013) who maintained that “teachers do not only lack knowledge about learner-centered instructions but also lack knowledge about ways to integrate technology into learner-centered instruction” (p.59). In line with this view, Zhao Zhang and Li (2011) observed that pre-service teachers including Economics students’ teachers are not well trained by their teachers’ education programme on how to use technology in the teaching and learning process. Moreover, Garba and Alademerin (2014) found that pre-service teachers in Nigeria are not well prepared in their Universities and Colleges of Education to teach with technology notwithstanding that there are many policies and funds set up by the government.

Technological pedagogical content knowledge is a form of knowledge required by Economics pre-service teachers to acquire in this technological age for effective delivery of instruction. Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler, and Shin (2009) defined technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) as the knowledge teachers imbibe for proper integration of technology and content during instruction. It is a kind of knowledge that consists of technological knowledge, technological content knowledge, and technological pedagogical knowledge (Apau, 2017). This implies that Economics pre-service teachers should acquire the following knowledge before the end of his or her programme as explained in the TPACK framework by Koehler and Mishra (2006) as below:

To explain the diagram above, Content knowledge in this study is about Economics concepts learned or taught. In the sight of this, Pfundt and Duit (2000) warned that lack of a comprehensive base of content knowledge can be discouraging on the side of pre-service teachers. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is the combination of pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge in teaching and learning Economics. It consists of all educational activities like teaching, learning, curriculum, assessment, and reporting. It deals with different ways of presenting the subject matter to the learners. Given this, Abbitt (2011) stated that PCK embraces knowledge of pedagogies and the planning procedures that are suitable and applicable to the teaching of a given content at any specific time. Technological knowledge is a form of knowledge that deals with smorgasbord technologies like picture books, the internet, blogs, e-mails, and more advanced technologies (Koehler, Mishra, Hershey & Peruski, 2004). This implies that Economics pre-service teachers should learn how to utilize the knowledge they acquired in a word processor, spreadsheets, browsers, blogs, e-mails among others in their educational activities.

Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) is a form of knowledge in which teachers utilize technological skills together with pedagogical knowledge in teaching and learning. Mishra and Koehler (2006) defined technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) as the knowledge that deals with the effect of assorted technological skills in the teaching and learning environment. In collaboration with this view, Graham, Cox, and Velasquez (2009) perceive TPK as the knowledge of overall pedagogical activities in which a teacher can use emerging technologies in teaching. TPK is the knowledge of applying technology in different teaching methods (Owusu, 2014). Technological content knowledge is characterized by flexibility, creativity, and adaptability to allow teachers to manage, direct and employ technology in a unique manner (Clark, 2013). Male and female Economics pre-service teachers have different perceptions on the use of technology with content knowledge in the teaching and learning process.

Gender is a significant variable in this study because male and female students perceive technology in different ways. Ugwuanyi, Okeke, and Mokhele-Makgalwa (2021) reported that male academics have high interest in using information technology tools than female academics. In line with this, Yuksel and Yasin (2014) asseverated that male teachers are highly interested in using new technological devices in learning than female students in Turkey.

The problem of this study emanated from the fact that despite the fast-growing of technology in this computer era, Economics pre-service teachers are still using the conventional way of teaching without employing technological aided devices in the classroom instruction during their fieldwork experiences. This could discourage borderless learning and lead to lack of motivation and low achievement among Economics Senior Secondary school students in the internal and external examination. Moreover, some of the Economics pre-service teachers’ lack the skills involve in integrating technology, content, and pedagogy in classroom instruction. Since researches have proved effective use of technology during the teaching and learning process. There is a need for Economics pre-service teachers to be knowledgeable and updated in a proper way for effective application of technology, pedagogy, and content in the learning process. The use of technology virtually connect students and make them more creative in planning their lesson note. None has been done to the knowledge of the research on Economics pre-service teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Against this backdrop, there is a need to investigate Economics pre-service teachers’ preparedness to TPACK for effective Economics Instruction.

Research Questions

• What is the technological knowledge preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers of UNN
• What is the technological pedagogical knowledge preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers of UNN
• What is the technological content knowledge preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers of UNN
• What are the factors that may hinder the preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers to acquire technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK)

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Ho_1: There is no significance difference in the mean rating scores of male and female

Economics pre-service teachers on technological knowledge preparedness at University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Ho₂:There is no significance difference in the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological pedagogical knowledge preparedness at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Ho3:There is no significance difference in the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological content knowledge preparedness at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Ho₄:There is no significance difference in the mean rating of the factors that may hinder the preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers and technological pedagogical content knowledge.

The study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, the study anchored on Social constructivism theory propounded by Lev Vygotsky in the year 1978, which believes that students should construct their ideas in such a way that it will be meaningful to them for active participation and easy understanding of the concepts. The tenet of this theory is that knowledge is constructed based on social interaction and experience. The relationship between this theory and this study is that the interaction of pre-service Economics teachers and the students in the classroom is very important. Students learn a lot from their teachers’ knowledge and their behaviours because they are models in the school setting. A teacher endowed with technological pedagogical content in his/her field such as Economics will effectively deliver instructions because the style of teaching will be different from those that lack technological pedagogical content.

Research Question 1: What is the technological knowledge preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers?

Table 1: Mean scores of Economics pre-service teachers on the preparedness of technological knowledge at UNN

The result in table1 shows that the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on items 1 to 11 are below the benchmark mean of 2.50. This implies that both male and female Economics pre-service teachers disagreed with the statements of items 1 to 11.

Ho_1: There is no significance difference in the mean rating scores of male and female

Economics pre-service teachers on technological knowledge preparedness at University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Table 2: t-test of analysis of the difference in the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological knowledge preparedness at UNN

Results in table 2 reveal that there is significance difference in the mean ratings of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological knowledge preparedness at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, t(135)=-1.720, p= .044. This is because that the p-value of 0.44 is lower than the 0.05 level of significance. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected.

Research Question 2: What is the technological pedagogical knowledge preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers of UNN?

Table 3: Mean scores of Economics pre-service teachers on the preparedness of technological pedagogical knowledge at UNN

The result in table 3 shows that the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on items 1 to 11 are below the benchmark mean of 2.50. This implies that both male and female Economics pre-service teachers disagreed with the statements of items 1 to 11.

Ho₂:There is no significance difference in the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological pedagogical knowledge preparedness at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Table 4: t-test of analysis of the difference in the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological pedagogical knowledge preparedness at UNN

Results in table 4 reveal that there is no significance difference in the mean ratings of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological pedagogical knowledge preparedness at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, t(135)= -1.734, p= .479. This is because that the p-value of .479 is greater than the 0.05 level of significance. Thus, the null hypothesis is accepted.

Research Question 3: What is the technological content knowledge preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers of UNN?

Table 5: Mean scores of Economics pre-service teachers on the preparedness of technological content knowledge at UNN

The result in table 5 shows that the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on items 1 to 7 are below the benchmark mean of 2.50. This implies that both male and female Economics pre-service teachers disagreed with the statements of items 1 to 7.

Ho3:There is no significance difference in the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological content knowledge preparedness at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Table 6: t-test of analysis of the difference in the mean rating scores of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological content knowledge preparedness at UNN

Results in table 6 reveal that there is no significance difference in the mean ratings of male and female Economics pre-service teachers on technological content knowledge preparedness at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, t(135)= -1.545, p= .187. This is because that the p-value of .187 is greater than the 0.05 level of significance. Thus, the null hypothesis is accepted.

Research Question 4: What are the factors that may hinder the preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK)

Table 7: Mean analysis of the ratings of factors that may hinder preparedness of pre-service Economics teachers to acquire technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK)

The result in table 7 shows that the mean rating scores of factors that may hinder the preparedness of pre-service Economics teachers to technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) on items 1 to 7 are above the benchmark mean of 2.50. This implies that both male and female Economics pre-service teachers agreed to the statements of items 1 to 7.

Ho₄:There is no significance difference in the mean rating of the factors that may hinder the preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers and technological pedagogical content knowledge.

Table 8: t-test of analysis of the difference in the mean rating scores of the factors that may hinder preparedness of pre-service Economics teachers in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK)

Results in table 8 reveal that there is no significance difference in the mean ratings of the factors that may hinder the preparedness of Economics pre-service teachers and technological pedagogical content knowledge, t(135)= -.863 p= .963. This is because that the p-value of .963 is greater than the 0.05 level of significance. Thus, the null hypothesis is accepted.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The study investigated Economics pre-service teachers’ preparedness to technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) for effective Economics instruction. The findings showed that Economics pre-service teachers did not receive adequate technological pedagogical content knowledge needed for effective teaching and learning of Economics. Hence, there is a need to educate and train Economics pre-service teachers to acquire technological skills suitable for classroom instructions because of the country’s situation, especially in this Covid-19 era. The study also found that factors that hinder the acquisition of this technological pedagogical content knowledge are epileptic power supply, poor maintenance culture, non-use of technological gadgets, and lack of funds among others. The study found that Universities should make these technological gadgets available for pre-service Economics teachers to use to revolutionize teaching and make them effective thinkers and creative in handling their classroom. Based on these findings, the researcher make the following recommendations that Universities should provide continuous training for both lecturers and students on the integration of technological skills in teaching and learning. The government in collaboration with the Universities should provide more technological gadgets and finance to maintain information communication technology (ICT) devices for the professional development of teachers in the 21^st century. The school library should be furnished with books about technology, pedagogy, and content and should be made available to lecturers and students who are interested to upgrade themselves. Curriculum planners should incorporate a course in the Economics curriculum with in-depth technological pedagogical content knowledge and make it compulsory for Economics pre-service teachers since ICT in teaching and learning has come to stay.

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