Competencies of Pre-Service Teacher Trainees in Computer Use in Mathematics Instruction in Secondary Schools in Kenya

The necessity to use computers in the teaching and learning process in order to improve performance in mathematics is critical and requires immediate consideration. The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service mathematics teachers competencies in computer use and the use of computers in teaching. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The target population was teacher trainees of mathematics at Kenyan universities. The accessible population was 200 teacher trainees of mathematics from four Kenyan Universities that offer Bachelor of Education degree courses. Stratified and simple random sampling procedures were employed in this study. The instruments for data collection were the pre-service teacher questionnaire, and face to face interview schedule. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics involved frequencies and percentages while inferential statistics involved Pearson correlation and simple regression analysis which was used to make a prediction about the computer use based on its covariance with the pre-service teachers computer competencies. The findings indicated that effective introduction and use of computers in schools is largely dependent upon teachers competencies in computer use. Based on these findings, it is recommended that pre-service teachers of mathematics in universities be given professional development training in the use of computer technology in classroom instruction in order to improve instruction delivery. On the other hand, the ministry of education should support the training as well as providing computer software to schools to facilitate computer based instruction with a view of improving performance in mathematics in secondary schools in Kenya.