EFFECTS OF REMEDIAL TEACHING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN CALCULUS IN THE EDUCATION COLLEGES IN GHANA

Calculus is one of the highest intellectual achievements globally and is a major way for pre-service teachers to move into the fields that will empower the economy of the 21st century. However, more than 30% of students in Ghanaian tertiary education institutions fail calculus courses each year. This is vital for mathematics educators to improve the success of students and find ways to increase calculus achievement by pre-service teachers. This study aimed to investigate the performance of basic pre-service mathematics teachers in calculus in colleges of education in Ghana. Furthermore, the study assessed gender differences in the performance of basic education pre-service teachers in calculus. The researcher used a short case study design. Purposive sampling was used to select 92 (72 males and 20 females) pre-service teachers from 493. Findings indicate that preservice teachers performed well in calculus. Although the study indicates no significant difference between the performance of male and female pre-service teachers in calculus, the male pre-service teachers outperformed their female counterparts. The study concludes that the use of remedial teaching can enhance the academic performance of pre-service mathematics teachers in calculus. The study recommends that mathematics teachers allocate more time for teaching and learning calculus at the college level.