Lessons from a mathematics and science intervention programme in Tshwane township schools

Fricke, Irma B.; Horak, Ellen Brassil; Meyer, L.; Lingen, N. van

doi:10.4314/sajhe.v22i1.25774

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Traditionally, the ways that teachers develop their science pedagogical knowledge and skills are through “drill-and-kill” exercises offered by the local professional development unit of the department of education (Bantwini, 2009). The alternative is to develop professional communities of teachers who work with and mentor each other on a continuous and constructive basis (Fricke, Horak, Meyer, & van Lingen, 2008; Jita & Ndlalane, 2009). Another challenge for South African teachers is that the science curriculum policy adopted nationwide requires them to enact an “indigenized” science curriculum, which can be a challenge for teachers who do not come from the same extreme poverty or socio-ethnic community as their students do (Ogunniyi, 2007a, 2007b; Ogunniyi & Ogawa, 2008).…”

Section: Science Teaching and Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Student Poverty on Science Teaching and Learning

Wiseman

2011

American Behavioral Scientist

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This article investigates the claim that student poverty is the strongest significant predictor of science teaching and learning, even more than school factors. To investigate this phenomenon, this study focuses on education in South Africa. South Africa is a country and educational system characterized by communities of both extreme poverty and wealth, and using cross-nationally comparative quantitative evidence, one can draw a clear distinction and estimate of the impact of student poverty on teaching and learning for both an international and a South African sample. The cross-national comparison contrasts education in South Africa with approximately 40 other countries by using internationally comparative data from the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study eighth-grade science assessments and background questionnaires. Using this data, the author tests the hypothesis that student poverty impact is a stable, strong predictor of science teacher pedagogy and student performance in South Africa compared to educational systems around the world and at every level of national development. These cross-national data are analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling, which is a multilevel regression technique that nests student-level indicators of teaching and learning within school communities, and school communities within national systems. Results support the hypothesis that student poverty is the most significant influence on science teaching and learning, which has strong implications for teacher accountability and the impact of school factors on student learning in high poverty communities worldwide. ArticlesAmerican Behavioral Scientist 56 (7)

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Section: Science Teaching and Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Student Poverty on Science Teaching and Learning

Wiseman

2011

American Behavioral Scientist

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“…It is important also to note that this sector is still grappling in general, with low levels of student success (Macgregor 2007). Whilst there are many reasons for this, for some it is directly related to the challenges faced by students in their transition from school to Higher Education, for others, it relates to the reality that public schools are characterised by varying levels of resources (Fricke et al 2008). This under-preparedness is compounded by the fact that some students from both rural and insular areas seemingly cannot function effectively in the city-style university environment, the exclusive use of English as medium of instruction, finding suitable accommodation, and financial challenges (Schreiber 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Academic Advising as Intervention for Enhancing the Academic Success of “At-Risk Students” at a Comprehensive University in South Africa

Nel

2014

MJSS

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This article explores the role of an Academic Advising programme based on personal exchanges between academic staff member and students in enhancing the latter's academic success. The contribution focuses specifically on the relevance of "Academic Advising" as an innovative strategy for boosting the academic performance of extended diploma programme students. This strategy responds to the imperative to design appropriate interventions to effectively assist with increasing the academic success of students from disadvantaged school backgrounds, who are considered "at-risk" especially in their first year. Put differently, Academic Advising is an intervention aimed at identifying these "at-risk" students early in their first year of study, and supporting them holistically with the view to increasing "access for success" in Higher Education. Interviews with staff members and students are used to elicit both parties' experience of the particular intervention. It is shown that the success of this intervention is strongly linked to academic staff's ability to identify the personal struggles of individual students, namely, accommodation issues, reading and language challenges, and lack of career guidance. Besides improving students' academic performance, this intervention will create a sense of accomplishment, increased enthusiasm and confidence among these students, who did not initially meet the minimum entry requirements for Higher Education.

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“…Formalised TPL programme design (e.g., Julie 2006; Adler and Davis 2006;Brown and Schafer 2006;Fricke et al 2008;Plotz et al 2012;Owusu-Mensah 2014) was tied for fifth in prevalence together with curriculum knowledge (e.g. Graven and Venkat 2014;Khuzwayo and Mashiya 2015;Molefe and Brodie 2010;Webb 2015).…”

Section: Main Research Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Themes in Mathematics Teacher Professional Learning Research in South Africa: A Review of the Period 2006–2015

Ndlovu

2018

Invited Lectures From the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education

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In this chapter, I review and identify themes in in-service mathematics teacher professional development/learning research in South Africa over a 10-year period from 2006 to 2015. No less than 92 journal articles were reviewed. Nine themes were identified as characterising research during this period. Mathematical knowledge for teaching and pedagogical content knowledge were the two most dominant themes. Subject matter knowledge was the fourth and closely aligned to the first two. Curriculum knowledge was the third most frequently occurring research theme and was also closely aligned to the first two. Together the first four themes constituted 54% of the research output for this period, an indication of the centrality of practising teachers' professional knowledge of school mathematics. Under-researched themes included the integration of ICTs in mathematics education as well as impact studies that were apparently constrained by lack of funding for large-scale research.

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Lessons from a mathematics and science intervention programme in Tshwane township schools

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

The Impact of Student Poverty on Science Teaching and Learning

The Impact of Student Poverty on Science Teaching and Learning

Academic Advising as Intervention for Enhancing the Academic Success of “At-Risk Students” at a Comprehensive University in South Africa

Themes in Mathematics Teacher Professional Learning Research in South Africa: A Review of the Period 2006–2015

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