**5. The research trends and their effect on mathematics education in South Africa**

In conjunction with the changing landscape of post-apartheid South Africa, research themes explored in mathematics education include assessment; issues of language; aspects of radical pedagogy and progressive classroom practices; ethnomathematics; and teacher education. Nonetheless, it would be of interest to see how all stakeholders understand the connections between curriculum research, reform, policy and practice in mathematics education. Adler et al. [15] report a considerable increase in primary mathematics education over the past decade. This could be a response to South African mathematics education registered challenge wherein learners' performances at all levels, and teachers' specialized mathematical knowledge [2] was significantly low. The Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) is one of South Africa's leading development think tanks, focusing on vital national development issues and their relationship to economic growth and democratic consolidation. Spaull [13] who compiled the CDE report assert that that despite some improvement, South Africa is still significantly underperforming in mathematics education. The data they collected points to indicators on school performance and teaching reveal largely unacknowledged poor teaching of mathematics in the great majority of schools. This is despite the fact that mathematics is a key requirement for not only entry into higher education, but also for most modern, knowledge-intensive work. The most recent report from the Head of the Department of Basic Education's National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU), argues that poor learner performance in most schools is largely due to the poor subject knowledge of teachers, especially in mathematics. The government official remarks that this is as a result a major problem in with teacher complacency, which is linked to the ways in which many teachers are appointed, often not on merit.

Informed by the research conducted, Spaull [13] developed four points that must be borne in mind in addressing South Africa's numeracy and mathematics schooling challenge, that (i) although the improvement of mathematics teaching and learning in public schools will not happen fast, it must begin urgently; (ii) poor mathematics and numeracy teaching and learning in public schools accelerate private schooling wherein there is enrolment growth in private extra mathematics lessons; (iii) if South Africa is to be realistic about having a knowledge economy and creating more and better jobs, it will require a sustained focus on teacher and teacher-training development, particularly in mathematics teaching, and (iv) in the interim, it is likely that the country will have growing numbers of innumerate young people, and a majority of young South Africans could be unqualified to be hired in many types of high quality work. Spaull's [13] research suggests (i) the address of the inefficiencies in basic education that result in escalating numbers of drop-out students from grade R-12; (ii) the development of early childhood and special needs mathematics education programs; (iii) a systemic account of public further education and training colleges on how they train mathematics teachers, together with (v) low pass rates in higher education institutions which were roughly half the learners at contact education universities who start a bachelor's degree graduating while only 40 per cent of diploma learners graduate. Further research recommended is on whether (i) the selection, appointment and promotion of mathematics teachers is based on their teaching qualities, as opposed say to the teachers' other relationships

or affiliations to unions; (ii) consideration of whether a system of teacher rewards for learner performance in mathematics can replace a formal teaching qualifications (iii) the allocation of more resources to teaching in school grades with the most serious deficiencies can make the most difference to end results at grade 12 matric level; and (iv) how teacher complacency van be addressed in mathematics education.

#### **6. Mathematics teacher training and empowerment**

Stinson [16] projects a historical perspective that reveals existence of mathematics as a gatekeeper in the education system structure of the United States. Equally a good performance in mathematics at grade 12 level allows students to enroll and follow careers of high stature in South Africa. Thus it is important that high quality training of mathematics teachers is ensured such that they are able to equip students with high critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Mathematics teacher training in South Africa was handled by training colleges prior to the re-dressing of the education system under the apartheid era. Those colleges were divided to the various levels in which the teacher was going to teach. For example teachers who did primary teachers' course (PTC) were enrolled to complete their 2-year certificate qualification in primary teachers' colleges. Different colleges enrolled and trained teachers who were prepared to teach in secondary schools and those were awarded a Junior Secondary Teachers' Course (JSTC) certificate after 2 years. In addition there were those few who were trained via a 1 year higher diploma in education (HDE) in universities after the completion of their first degrees. This last group was composed of few students who would join teaching because of other shortcomings or standards that they could not meet in order to advance to higher degrees. This was all because teaching as a profession was and still is an unpopular profession that is not highly recognized in the country.

During the post-apartheid era, many colleges were closed and or changed to be centers for Further Education and Training (FET) colleges or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) according to Act 98 of 1998. Thus teachers were now trained in universities. The bachelor of education (BEd) course has a duration of 4 years. For a candidate to be able to complete training to be a mathematics teacher, he/ she must have done mathematics up to second year level. Others would enroll for a junior Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree after which they enroll for a 1 year post graduate certificate (PGCE) course in mathematics didactics. Due to the high unemployment rate that is dominant in the country, some currently employed mathematics teachers hold an engineering junior degree but opt for teaching to escape the poverty lines. Consequently, Kaino et al. [17] assert that current mathematics teachers in the field today are a combination of a set of teachers with non-matching school subject knowledge and contrasting models of classroom practices together with proactive, reactive and over-reactive teachers [18]. The authors, Kaino et al. [17], further note that teachers with non-matching school subjects require continuous professional development to address and adjust to the consequences of an environment characterized by enormous infrastructural backlogs, resource limitations, an inadequate supply of quality learning support materials, and the absence of common national standards for learning and assessment.

It is for this reason that in each of the provincial departments in South Africa, members of the Sub-Division of the Professional Development and Research Division are responsible for the implementation of the Continuous Professional Teacher Development Management system in all provinces. Such provision is facilitated through the South African Council of Education (SACE) who liaises with other stakeholders like teacher unions, School Governing Body associations and others to approve service providers in different provinces in South Africa. Also mathematics teachers at various

**137**

**Author details**

**7. Conclusion**

Zingiswa Jojo

provided the original work is properly cited.

University of South Africa (UNISA), Pretoria, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: jojozmm@unisa.ac.za

*Mathematics Education System in South Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85325*

levels work with projects initiated by South African universities to be empowered and improve their mathematics pedagogical skills. It is my contribution and proposal in this chapter that mathematics teachers need to undergo compulsory professional training in-service before they are permanently employed. It is during that training that the mathematics content knowledge gap can be closed and that they would be equipped with the competencies of handling the subject even in under resourced trying conditions. This is practiced in other countries like South Korea and Singapore. The students

Investigations on the South African mathematics education system have consistently revealed how critical the situation is. Irrespective of the highlighted shortcomings and condition surrounding the teaching and learning of mathematics, echoing the irregularities in the system will not help, but the existing challenges must be addressed. Clearly a political solution in which the quality of successful performance standards in mathematics at grade 12 matric level have been lowered to 20% is not a solution. That compromise psychologically disadvantages concerned students who would like to pursue careers in which mathematics is required. In this chapter, I argue that teaching is an art and the teaching of mathematics requires continuous professional development that equips that teachers with mathematics content at various levels and how it can be presented in the classroom. The supervision of mathematics teaching practice must be preceded by demonstrated micro-teaching lessons on various topics. All mathematics teachers should have access to mathematics open education resources that are freely available online. Also, a shift in the mindset of mathematics teachers must be promoted. The department of education can consider bring back the training colleges such that quality mathematics teachers can be trained. The performance in the subject must be detached from politics and be controlled by conceptual knowledge of the subject. In that way students will not be taught for passing mathematics in different levels, but rather understanding that can assist the student to connect and apply learnt and known mathematics concepts to the improvement of their daily lives. A system that empowers and compels mathematics teachers to serve for 2 years before they are permanent, as practiced in Singapore can turn the tables around for South Africa.

in those countries are taught well and perform very well in mathematics.

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

*Mathematics Education System in South Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85325*

levels work with projects initiated by South African universities to be empowered and improve their mathematics pedagogical skills. It is my contribution and proposal in this chapter that mathematics teachers need to undergo compulsory professional training in-service before they are permanently employed. It is during that training that the mathematics content knowledge gap can be closed and that they would be equipped with the competencies of handling the subject even in under resourced trying conditions. This is practiced in other countries like South Korea and Singapore. The students in those countries are taught well and perform very well in mathematics.

## **7. Conclusion**

*Education Systems Around the World*

or affiliations to unions; (ii) consideration of whether a system of teacher rewards for learner performance in mathematics can replace a formal teaching qualifications (iii) the allocation of more resources to teaching in school grades with the most serious deficiencies can make the most difference to end results at grade 12 matric level; and (iv) how teacher complacency van be addressed in mathematics education.

Stinson [16] projects a historical perspective that reveals existence of mathematics as a gatekeeper in the education system structure of the United States. Equally a good performance in mathematics at grade 12 level allows students to enroll and follow careers of high stature in South Africa. Thus it is important that high quality training of mathematics teachers is ensured such that they are able to equip students

Mathematics teacher training in South Africa was handled by training colleges prior to the re-dressing of the education system under the apartheid era. Those colleges were divided to the various levels in which the teacher was going to teach. For example teachers who did primary teachers' course (PTC) were enrolled to complete their 2-year certificate qualification in primary teachers' colleges. Different colleges enrolled and trained teachers who were prepared to teach in secondary schools and those were awarded a Junior Secondary Teachers' Course (JSTC) certificate after 2 years. In addition there were those few who were trained via a 1 year higher diploma in education (HDE) in universities after the completion of their first degrees. This last group was composed of few students who would join teaching because of other shortcomings or standards that they could not meet in order to advance to higher degrees. This was all because teaching as a profession was and still is an unpopular profession that is not highly recognized in the country. During the post-apartheid era, many colleges were closed and or changed to be centers for Further Education and Training (FET) colleges or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) according to Act 98 of 1998. Thus teachers were now trained in universities. The bachelor of education (BEd) course has a duration of 4 years. For a candidate to be able to complete training to be a mathematics teacher, he/ she must have done mathematics up to second year level. Others would enroll for a junior Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree after which they enroll for a 1 year post graduate certificate (PGCE) course in mathematics didactics. Due to the high unemployment rate that is dominant in the country, some currently employed mathematics teachers hold an engineering junior degree but opt for teaching to escape the poverty lines. Consequently, Kaino et al. [17] assert that current mathematics teachers in the field today are a combination of a set of teachers with non-matching school subject knowledge and contrasting models of classroom practices together with proactive, reactive and over-reactive teachers [18]. The authors, Kaino et al. [17], further note that teachers with non-matching school subjects require continuous professional development to address and adjust to the consequences of an environment characterized by enormous infrastructural backlogs, resource limitations, an inadequate supply of quality learning support materials, and the

**6. Mathematics teacher training and empowerment**

with high critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

absence of common national standards for learning and assessment.

It is for this reason that in each of the provincial departments in South Africa, members of the Sub-Division of the Professional Development and Research Division are responsible for the implementation of the Continuous Professional Teacher

Development Management system in all provinces. Such provision is facilitated through the South African Council of Education (SACE) who liaises with other stakeholders like teacher unions, School Governing Body associations and others to approve service providers in different provinces in South Africa. Also mathematics teachers at various

**136**

Investigations on the South African mathematics education system have consistently revealed how critical the situation is. Irrespective of the highlighted shortcomings and condition surrounding the teaching and learning of mathematics, echoing the irregularities in the system will not help, but the existing challenges must be addressed. Clearly a political solution in which the quality of successful performance standards in mathematics at grade 12 matric level have been lowered to 20% is not a solution. That compromise psychologically disadvantages concerned students who would like to pursue careers in which mathematics is required. In this chapter, I argue that teaching is an art and the teaching of mathematics requires continuous professional development that equips that teachers with mathematics content at various levels and how it can be presented in the classroom. The supervision of mathematics teaching practice must be preceded by demonstrated micro-teaching lessons on various topics. All mathematics teachers should have access to mathematics open education resources that are freely available online.

Also, a shift in the mindset of mathematics teachers must be promoted. The department of education can consider bring back the training colleges such that quality mathematics teachers can be trained. The performance in the subject must be detached from politics and be controlled by conceptual knowledge of the subject. In that way students will not be taught for passing mathematics in different levels, but rather understanding that can assist the student to connect and apply learnt and known mathematics concepts to the improvement of their daily lives. A system that empowers and compels mathematics teachers to serve for 2 years before they are permanent, as practiced in Singapore can turn the tables around for South Africa.

#### **Author details**

Zingiswa Jojo University of South Africa (UNISA), Pretoria, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: jojozmm@unisa.ac.za

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
