High School Mathematics Teachers’ Knowledge About Stem Education: The Ordinal Logistic Regression Model

This study analyses high school mathematics teachers’ knowledge about STEM education. Three hundred and fifty (350) Senior High School teachers, comprising one hundred and eighty one (181) males and one hundred and sixty-nine (169) females, selected from schools in the central region of Ghana, participated in the study. The proportional odds model of the ordinal logistic regression comprising a five-point Likert scale (i.e., highly not aware, not aware, neutral, aware, highly aware) dependent variable, and continuous and nominal predictor variables were used for the study. The results indicated that the significant predictors were math attitude, teacher competency in math, motivation, Asanti, Fanti, Ewe, Ashanti, Bono, Northern, Savannah, and Volta, P < .05. These variables either significantly decreased or increased the predicted log odds of falling at a higher level of the outcome variable while holding the other variables constant. The Exp(β) provides the odds ratio associated with each predictor, with a 95 % C. I. The adjusted odds ratio for Math attitude was 2.56, with a C.I of -.34-.32. The adjusted odds ratio for Teacher competency in Math was 1.08, with a C. I of -.17-.33, the adjusted odds ratio for Motivation was 2.25, with a C. I of -.56- -.02, the adjusted odds ratio for Fanti was 2.23, with a C. I of .08- 1.31 and the adjusted odds ratio for Islam was 1.10, with a C.I of - 1.41-1.22. The implication of the study is that the government could enact laws that would make it mandatory for all science and mathematics teachers to use a comprehensive integrative STEM curriculum for instruction. This integrative curriculum must have science, technology, engineering, and mathematics components appropriately selected. The study concludes that teachers should reorient their perspectives and understanding of their self-efficacy beliefs about STEM education. The government, municipal, and district education offices could organise periodic professional development programmes on STEM education for teachers to possess specific personal and professional characteristics.

Keywords: STEM, Odds ratio, self-efficacy, Likert scale, proportional odds model.