Why is the teaching of mathematics in black schools in South Africa so poor? What motivates would-be pedagogues to teach maths? Are they satisfied with the pre-service preparation they receive? Are teachers of teachers wedded to pedagogically naïve methodologies? How can training be improved?

A paper from South Africa’s University of the North and the University of York’s Department of Educational Studies reports on research into the attitudes and expectations of trainee and newly trained black maths teachers in South Africa’s Northern Province. Recommendations which emerge have implications for the selection of candidates for maths training and the planning of teacher education curricula throughout the developing world.

The reasons for choosing a mathematics teaching career should not be equated with commitment to teaching. The study found that few of the pre-service and novice teachers (those with less than four years teaching experience) to be altruists. Many said they came to colleges of teacher education because of their relatively relaxed selection criteria compared to other institutions of higher education. More than half said they plan to leave teaching and hope that their training and teaching experience will be stepping-stones to higher qualifications and a better professional future.

Have teacher education programmes lost touch with school practice? The research found a contrast between the teaching strategies promoted by pre-service teachers (mostly enthusiastic about using student-centred approaches to encourage creativity) and those of novice teachers (half of whom prefer traditional ‘chalk and talk’ methods). Novice teachers complained at the inconsistency in guidance provided by lecturers and supervisory school teachers in classrooms.

Other attitudes brought out by the survey included:

• only a minority of pre-service teachers expected college to educate them to be better managers of classes.
• a quarter of the pre-service teachers interviewed did not have any expectations about college, simply seeing it as a way to avoid unemployment.
• the fact that all the novice teachers said training had met their main expectation (gaining a teaching qualification) shows that teacher education is seen as a preparation for a job, rather than a profession.
• only the pre-service teachers had positive comments about teaching practice, welcoming it as an opportunity to establish relationships with students.
• novice teachers report it is hard to introduce student-centred approaches when standards of discipline are low, schoolchildren cannot follow explanations in English or teachers and students speak different first languages.

The paper recommends that:

• selection methods be improved in order to assess the motivation of candidates to enroll in teacher education programmes
• teacher educators modify their classroom practice and assessment methods
• stronger links be established between schools and teacher education institutions and common aims of pre-service training agreed upon
• the role of in-school tutors be clarified, particularly with regard to teaching practice assessment
• method issues take centre stage in in-service programmes and novice teacher mentoring support
• a larger longitudinal study tracing the attitudes and practice of one cohort over many years should be carried out.

Source(s):
‘The views of pre-service and novice teachers on mathematics teaching South Africa related to their educational experience’, Educational Research, 41/1, p23-34, by Kabelo Chuene, Fred Lubben and Graham Newson, Spring 1999

id21 Research Highlight: 14 March 2002

Further Information:
Kabelo Chuene
University of the North
PB X1106
Sovenga 0727
South Africa

Tel: +27 15 2683057
Fax: +27 15 2682899
Contact the contributor: kabeloc@unin.unorth.ac.za

University of the North, South Africa

Fred Lubben / Graham Newson
Department of Educational Studies
University of York
Heslington
York YO10 5DD
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1904) 432560
Fax: +44 (0)1904) 433444
Contact the contributor: fel1@york.ac.uk

Department of Educational Studies, University of York, UK

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