Learner achievement in primary school mathematics

1. What does South African research tell us about teachers, teaching and learner performance in maths?Dr Jane HofmeyrSenior Consultant: Education 23 May 2014

2. Learner achievement in primary school mathematics • South African learners amongst the lowest maths performers internationally • There has been very little improvement over the past few years: • SACMEQ (Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality) 2000 and 2007 studies • Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011

3. Learner achievement in primary school mathematics CDE research reports: Mathematics Outcomes (Oct ‘13) • Higher NSC maths pass rates do not indicate better quality education (large drop-out still a problem) • South African learners fail to acquire functional numeracy skills in the lower grades • Learning deficits in maths at the foundation phase prevent learners from following curriculum in higher grades • South Africa has some of least-knowledgeable primary school maths teachers in sub-Saharan Africa

4. What we know about influences on learner achievement 1. National School Effectiveness Survey (NSES), 2011 • School management and teacher practice factors (e.g. effective coverage of curriculum and completed exercises) associated with numeracy achievement 2. NEEDU evaluation of Foundation Phase (2012) • Too little learner writing (practice) in most maths classes • Inadequate progression in writing quantity through grades • Wide discrepancies in quantity of writing in different classes at same grade level in one school • Teacher difficulty with pace required by maths curriculum

5. What we know about influences on learner achievement 3.Research by Bohlmann and Pretorius, 2008 Investigated relationship between maths performance, language proficiency, and reading • Sample: Grade 7 learners in two township schools School A: Public – N Sotho as HL in FP, switch to Engin Gr 4 School B: Independent – “straight for English”, more resources • Findings: • Children who read well in their HL, read better in English • Being proficient in language ≠ proficient in reading • Reading ability (rather than English language proficiency) is strong predictor of maths achievement • Learners without adequate reading skills will struggle with maths

6. CDE/Zenex Foundation research project on ‘2nd tier’ public schools • ‘1st tier’ schools: top 6% producing 50% of matric maths & science passes in 2008 • ‘2nd tier’ schools: + 1000 schools performing below them but above national av. passes in maths and science = potential for improvement Aim of research: to explore and strengthen drivers of quality in 2nd tier schools

7. Research methodology • School sample • 124 2nd tier public schools from 400 of best and lowest performing ones • Divided equally between Gauteng (urban poor and rich) and KZN (rural and small town) • Divided into those with upward, downward, erratic and consistent trends in learner performance • Used analysis of school data, interviews, teacher testing

8. Main findings from 2nd tier CDE research • No correlation between learner: teacher ratios and school performance • No correlation between teacher qualifications and school performance • Absolute number of teachers teaching Grade 12 affects performance • Teachers who taught for a longer time in one school showed better results • Unrealistic assessment of teaching competence by principals and HODs

9. Conclusions of 2nd tier CDE research • 2nd tier schools = potential for better maths & science results BUT • Teachers’ content knowledge, ability to think and teach mathematically, and confidence to use mathematics terminology likely to be moreNB than reducing learner: teacher ratio, increasing resources available for maths teaching and learning or concentrating on upgrading qualifications in their present form

10. Key issues from recent research in this area • Implications for ITE? (Qualified teacher may not = good teacher) • Implications of complacency of principals, HODs and teachers for INSET (CPTD)? • What kind of knowledge needed by maths teachers? • Effect of language competence on teaching and learning maths?

11. Discussion points • Teacher numbers, stability in one school = on-the-job acquiring of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and a professional learning community (PLC)? • What is PCK? (1986 Shulman) ‘working mathematically whilst working with mathematical content’. Content knowledge and teachers’ relationship to mathematics and how to teach it. • Importance of language use of mathematical language, children’s proficiency in reading and writing and development of CALP.

12. Implications of key findings Improve teacher education! Initial teacher education (ITE) • Focus on higher level of content knowledge and language (English) competence • Mathematical thinking should be an important component of maths teacher education • PCK should be a key feature of ITE • More and better teaching practice necessary in ITE

13. Implications of key findings In-service teacher education (INSET) • Help teachers to analyse ANA results diagnostically • Consider online INSET courses e.g. Programme for Education Tablets in Schools (Pets) in W Cape • Use teacher online self-assessment (for self-development) – pilot project of DBE • Provide blocks of training, rather than once-off workshops = more effective INSET • Clustering schools as Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) is important

14. Implications for independent schools • ‘Straight for English’ policy is not sufficient to ensure maths performance • Reading proficiency is best predictor of maths performance (in any language) • Both quality and quantity of maths work is important • Professional learning communities (PLCs) are very valuable