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South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality pp 189–204Cite as

Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge, Teaching and the Problem of Inequality

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Part of the book series: Policy Implications of Research in Education ((PIRE,volume 10))

Abstract

In this chapter, the foci of key national policy interventions are considered in relation to concerns with primary teachers’ mathematical knowledge and primary mathematics teaching in South Africa. This evidence points to knowledge and practice resources for supporting learning being distributed inequitably across socio-economic divides, with teachers in lower socio-economic status schools scoring lower than their higher socio-economic status counterparts on measures of mathematical content knowledge and working with slower pacing and more limited curriculum coverage. Given the broad agreement that basic mathematical knowledge is required for the possibility of coherent and connected mathematics teaching, there is urgent need for policy attention to improving primary teachers’ content knowledge and classroom practices related to mathematics, to address inequality. The analysis presented in this chapter suggests, through the categorization of resources into material, cultural and human domains, that attention to human resources in terms of teachers’ mathematical knowledge and mathematics teaching has largely been sidelined. A lack of consensus in the research base on what counts as basic mathematical knowledge and as quality teaching is indicated as part of the problem. Initiatives to build consensus are viewed as useful for directing policy on mathematical knowledge and mathematics teaching development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Hamsa Venkat

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  1. Hamsa Venkat
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Correspondence to Hamsa Venkat .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Nic Spaull

  2. Faculty of Education, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

    Jonathan D. Jansen

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Venkat, H. (2019). Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge, Teaching and the Problem of Inequality. In: Spaull, N., Jansen, J. (eds) South African Schooling: The Enigma of Inequality. Policy Implications of Research in Education, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18811-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18811-5_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18810-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18811-5

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