Experiences of primary school teachers in teaching mathematics and provision of intervention strategies to diverse learners (a case of Johannesburg South District)

Abstract

After attaining democracy in 1994, inclusive education was introduced to address learners’ individual needs in all subjects including mathematics. However, mathematics performance in South African primary schools is poor. This trend of low mathematics pass rate continues to high school. The aim of this study was to explore teachers’ perceptions and experiences when teaching mathematics on how mathematics is taught, intervention strategies provided, teacher competence and support needed by teachers. Eleven teachers from three primary schools in Johannesburg South District participated in the research study. Six foundation phase teachers and five intermediate and senior phase teachers were interviewed. The collected data revealed various factors that impacted on mathematics teaching and intervention provision. The findings concurred with literature on previous research studies in that teacher incompetence, negative attitudes, overcrowded classrooms and inadequate support in state schools are the major factors that result in mediocre mathematics performance by learners. The findings suggest that unless these factors are attended to as a matter of urgency by the relevant authorities, mathematics performance in schools will remain poor’. Policies on teacher training should promote production of competent mathematics teachers and employment of mathematics educators who majored in the subject. Further, professional development should be intensified and be readily available.