Goals of the national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan: educators’ perceptions and challenges toward achievement

Abstract

PurposeThe national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan has emphasized on improving content knowledge, reasoning abilities and problem-solving skills of students about thinking, communicating and solving mathematics (national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan, 2006). Whereas, there is a need to understand the point of view of teachers about the challenges they face in achieving the goals of national mathematics curriculum. This will help leading teacher training institutions to revisit their math teacher continuous professional development (CPD) programs and facilitate school leadership in improving the quality of math education in rural schools of the province. However, the purpose of this research study is to figure out the challenges that teachers are facing while achieving the goals of the national curriculum by teaching mathematics at the primary level in educational institutes of Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachIn this research study qualitative research approaches have been utilized, in which focus group discussions (FGDs) were used as data collection techniques. Furthermore, thematic analysis of the data led toward the development of four overarching themes such as teachers' knowledge about mathematics curriculum, challenges relating to mathematics content and pedagogy, difficulties in developing conceptual understanding and designing lesson plans to address students' diversity.FindingsThe overall findings of this research study suggested that the majority of teachers are facing difficulties in mathematics content teaching such as decimal fraction, unitary method, measurement principles, practical geometry and data handling. Moreover, teachers are also facing challenges and difficulties in developing hands-on and minds-on activities in the teaching of mathematical concepts to the students of primary level in educational institutes of Pakistan.Practical implicationsThis research study will facilitate the teachers and stakeholders to address the problematic issues in the domain of content delivery of mathematics. Whereas, this study recommends educating teachers about national mathematics curriculum and to develop a CPD framework for mathematics teachers for the enhancement of their pedagogical content knowledge. The study also recommends orientating school heads about the different aspects of math curriculum so that they can mentor math teachers in achieving math curriculum goals.Originality/valueThis is the first research study of its nature, which targets and highlights the teacher's perceptions toward the achieving the goals of national mathematics curriculum of Pakistan and addressing the pedagogical challenges faced in mathematics teachers. There is a dearth of studies in mathematics education in Sindh province. The issue is of immense importance, the findings will help teachers to improve mathematics instructions at primary level.

Meta-Analysis on the Issues and Reform Dimensions of Primary Mathematics in Pakistan

“…Pakistan's national curriculum actually focused on the content of mathematics and emphasized mental qualities: mathematical reasoning, problem solving and communication. However, the function is still awaited to achieve the target structure of its documented form (Mughal et al, 2021).Mathematics content is not fixed in nature and there are different points of view. The way the teacher transfer it makes it either absolute or fallibilist.…”

“…One of the basic problems in Pakistan regarding the problem of primary mathematics is the lack of specific content of primary teacher for this job. Mughal et al (2021) clearly indicated that the majority of primary school teachers faced difficulties in delivering the content along with concept in most of the basic mathematics. Further teachers also faced difficulties in using hands and minds-on-activities.…”

Effect of Brain-Based Learning on Students’ Mathematics Performance at Elementary Level

“…In the Pakistani context, various approaches have been deployed to improve and measure students' mathematics achievements; total quality management (Mahmood & Ismail, 2018), metacognition (Habib & Rana, 2020), the effect of ICT (Ishaq et al, 2020;Khan, 2020), the influence of physical facilities (Arshad et al, 2018), executive functioning (Hania et al, 2019), parental influence (Ahmed et al, 2019), the effect of cooperative learning (Atiq et al, 2021) and problemsolving (Ahmad et al, 2022). Even then, students' mathematics results are still unsatisfactory (Mughal et al, 2021;Ullah et al, 2018). There is a need to find any practical approach that is costeffective and easy to use in classrooms to enhance their mathematics performance.…”

Altering Students’ Attitude towards Math Learning Through Project-Based Learning: A Math Project

“…Most public schools in the government still employ more conventional teaching approaches (Zhongming, Linong, Xiaona, Wangqiang, & Wei, 2019). Government schools have the lowest ratings for the quality of education (Mughal, Asad & Adams, 2020). The students' negative attitudes about mathematics are the root reason for their academic failure (Mazana, Suero Montero, & Olifage, 2019).…”