Instruction for Mathematics and Science in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades

Grade at Which Specialist Teachers for Mathematics and Science are Introduced

The shortage of qualified teachers in South African schools has been influenced by the historical racial background of different kinds of education, as well as teacher education institutions that had been segregated through race. As a result, African schools have faced a severe lack of qualified specialist mathematics and science teachers. Since 2007, the Fundza Lusaka Bursary (scholarship) program has offered financial aid to prospective teachers who specialize in mathematics and science education.¹²

The TIMSS 2011 cohort of Grade 9 learners was taught by qualified teachers (i.e., teachers with a recognized teaching qualification) who majored in mathematics, but not mathematics education (54 percent); majored in both mathematics and mathematics education (27 percent); majored in mathematics education, but not mathematics (8 percent); or majored in another field (10 percent).¹³

Taking into account the initiatives implemented in improving teacher content and pedagogical content knowledge, the cohort of Grade 9 learners assessed in TIMSS 2015 might have been taught by qualified teachers with a greater proportion specializing in mathematics and science.

Instructional Materials, Equipment, and Laboratories

The national Department of Basic Education compiles a catalog of Learning and Teaching Support Material (LTSM), which includes a variety of learning and teaching materials used in classrooms ranging from resources created by teachers and learners to commercially produced classroom resources such as wall charts, workbooks, textbooks, e-books, readers, stationery, science kits, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. The process of LTSM development may be undertaken by commercial companies, nongovernmental organizations, Open Educational Resource initiatives, as well as by internally producing/commissioning the development of LTSM for subjects where necessary (i.e., state publishing).¹⁴

The national and provincial departments of education provide material that has passed evaluation and quality standards. The following criteria are applied when screening for functionality of textbooks: “All textbooks should comply with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement; the pedagogical approach should be sound and engage learners. The level of activities and assessment, and the level of writing and explanation must be appropriate for learners of an intended grade. The text must be appropriate for learners in a diverse society and promote social transformation, and communicate values and attitudes consistent with the South African constitution.”¹⁵

Use of Technology

The rollout of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools has not been implemented with the expediency it deserves in the last 10 years.¹⁶ The Department of Basic Education is cognizant that children are born in an era of advanced technology, and it should be prudent for the sector to provide education that conforms to these developments. The Department of Basic Education maintains that access to ICT resources is no longer just “nice to have,” but an urgent requirement for advancing teaching and learning. The rollout of ICT infrastructure will be resuscitated by:

Providing teachers with ICT infrastructure (e.g., laptops), a project that has not been successful in the past term due to the difficulties of finding these laptops
Ensuring that teacher resource centers in all provinces have ICT programs for the professional development of teachers, exposing them to the use of technology in the classroom¹⁷

Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing

This section sets out how the South African schooling system accommodates learners with special education needs as part of regular teaching, learning, and assessment. It has to be noted, however, that for the purposes of TIMSS 2015 such learners and schools were not assessed on the basis of the exclusion criteria followed during local sampling. As a result, their scores are not reflected in the South African TIMSS data.

Education White Paper 6 titled Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System¹⁸ commits the government to provide access to education to all learners who experience barriers to learning. These barriers include disabilities as well as economic, social, language, class, and behavioral barriers.

Stemming from White Paper 6, the Guidelines for Responding to Learner Diversity in the Classroom through Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements¹⁹ provide practical guidance to school managers and teachers on planning and teaching to meet the needs of a diverse range of learners. This document recently has been redrafted to incorporate curriculum changes in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) and the revised document forms part of the CAPS orientation program for teachers and education officials in all the provinces.

The Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment, and Support (SIAS)²⁰ was introduced to ensure reasonable accommodation and support in terms of:

Standardization of the procedures to identify, assess, and provide programs for all learners who require additional support to enhance their participation and inclusion in school
Enhancing access to quality education for learners in school who experience barriers, and children of compulsory school-going age and youth who may be out of school
Managing and supporting teaching and learning processes
Establishing a seamless system of early identification and effective intervention

There are persistent challenges that impede the progress that is being made in the development of an inclusive education and training system.²¹ These challenges include a lack of understanding of the intent and approach to inclusive education by all stakeholders, inadequate financial and human resources, and limited access to specialist support services in schools.