RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND SECONDARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS’ TEACHING-EFFICACY IN MINNA METROPOLIS, NIGER STATE

Abstract

Teacher teaching efficacy remains a critical determinant of instructional effectiveness and students’ academic achievement in mathematics. However, persistent poor performance in mathematics among secondary school students in Niger State has continued to raise concerns about the effectiveness of teachers’ professional development programmes in strengthening classroom practice. This study investigated the relationship between professional development programmes and secondary school mathematics teachers’ teaching efficacy in Minna Metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive correlational survey design. The population comprised all secondary school mathematics teachers in public and private secondary schools in Minna Metropolis, from which a sample of 269 teachers was selected using multi-stage sampling procedures involving stratified and proportionate random sampling techniques. Data were collected using a researcher-developed instrument titled Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Development Programmes and Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MTPDPSEQ), which was validated by experts and yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.80 using Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analysed using simple linear regression at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that participation in online professional development programmes showed a weak positive but statistically insignificant relationship with mathematics teachers’ teaching efficacy (β = .060, p > .05). Similarly, seminar-based professional development programmes demonstrated a weak and non-significant relationship with teaching efficacy (β = .040, p > .05), while workshop-based professional development also showed no statistically significant relationship with teaching efficacy (β = .020, p > .05). The study concludes that although professional development remains essential for teacher growth, participation in isolated and conventional professional development formats may not be sufficient to strengthen teachers’ efficacy beliefs. The study recommends that professional development for mathematics teachers should be redesigned to include sustained, practice-based, collaborative, and classroom-embedded experiences capable of building mastery and strengthening teachers’ confidence for effective mathematics instruction.