The measures implemented over the years to address poor learner maths and science performance have ultimately failed as is demonstrated by South Africa’s repeated poor performance in the Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS). Decisive action must be taken urgently to solve a problem that is undermining economic growth through its major contribution to skills shortages. This pressing responsibility rests solely in government’s lap as the custodian of the public school system. So says Marco Maree, an Expert Training and Development Advisor of Triple E Training, a leading provider of adult education and training (AET) to industry for workplace and community training.
“The quality of basic skills education at the vast majority of our public schools is to blame. Thus, this is where the focus needs to be if we are to the steer the tide and build a robust pipeline of technical skills that can take South Africa forward. Our AET continues to provide many individuals who struggled at school and ultimately dropped out a second chance to learn foundational skills. Despite previous poor learning experiences and, at times, learning disorders, they excel in these programmes, including numeracy. This demonstrates the importance of quality tuition. Bear in mind that many of these individuals were initially reluctant to take numeracy as a subject until they started attending classes and realised that they can do it. Equipped with a solid foundation in numeracy, many holders of a General Education and Training Certificate in AET have even gone on to pass conventional maths at a matric level with a percentage mark sufficient to study technical fields at university. Our other learners pursue technical trades, which involve a strong foundation in mathematics,” Maree says.
Undertaken every four years, TIMSS monitors maths and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades. South Africa performed exceptionally poorly in the 2023 TIMSS, pointing to further deterioration of the country’s basic maths and science education system. Worse still, older South African learners at higher grades performed poorly against younger students in lower grades. South Africa insisted that fifth and ninth grade learners be assessed in this eighth cycle of the study to better match curricula and maintain trend measurement. Assessed against international fourth grade learners, the country’s older learners were placed last for their mathematics and science competence. Meanwhile, local ninth grade learners ranked fifth last in mathematics and second last for science against younger eighth grade learners.
The Human Sciences Research Council started conducting TIMSS in South Africa in 1995. Local eighth grade learners participated in the 1995, 1999 and 2003 cycles and ninth grade learners in TIMSS 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2019. TIMSS 2003 assessed the competence levels of eighth and nine grade learners in these technical fields. To gain a better understanding of education and achievement in primary schools, fifth grade learners participated in TIMSS 2015 for the first time. Both the mathematics and science skills levels of South African learners were again assessed in 2019. Skills, of course, also have a bearing on productivity. And, as Maree notes, South Africa’s productivity has remained flat for more than a decade. Measured according to a country’s real gross-domestic product per employed worker, productivity play a crucial role in bolstering employment opportunities. In turn, this leads to better wages and improved economic conditions for citizens at the household levels and across the nation.
“We have essentially collected a wealth of data over more than two decades that keeps highlighting major causes of the problem, but nothing much has been done over this period to solve it. The first places our many public schools, especially those attended by poor South Africans, under the spotlight. Only between 6% and 7% of South African learners who participated in TIMSS 2019 attended schools that were adequately resourced. This is compared to the 26% of international learners who attended well-equipped schools who participated in the study. Obviously, these learners achieved significantly higher maths and science scores. The learning environment is very important and hence the reason that we insist that our AET is always undertaken in decent spaces at the workplace. For community training initiatives, a lot of time is invested in finding a suitable place to facilitate training,” Maree says.
He points out another problem that prevents learners from performing at their peak, namely their level of readiness for maths and science instruction. Only 8% of the learners who participated in the previous TIMSS cycles were ready for instruction, which included having the prerequisite skills, as well as sufficient nutrition and sleep. It is not surprising that they achieved significantly higher maths and science scores than those learners who were not ready for instruction. Triple E Training spends a lot of time preparing employees and community members for AET. This process includes an assessment of candidates’ existing basic education skills so that they are placed at a suitable AET level. Learners must transition seamlessly from previous education attainment into the programme. If they find the course content too difficult or too easy, they will not complete AET. The company also conducts an awareness session before every training project to address learner’s concerns and fears. “In many of these meetings, learners have expressed concerns about their ability to pass AET numeracy, or just an outright irrational fear of mathematics. Many have been incorrectly led
to believe that only some people can do well in the subject, whereas nothing could be further from the truth. This needs to be addressed promptly because if our learners believe that they have a limited, fixed capability for mathematics, they will perform accordingly. Based on the high progression rate through our programmes, we continue to demonstrate the importance of instilling a growth mindset among our learners. They must believe that through growth, practice and effort they will overcome adversity. A positive attitude enables them to learn and master content as they make mistakes,” he says.
The other reason that so many South African learners struggle with technical subjects is because of poor English reading comprehension skills. Non-native English speakers are expected to learn maths and science in these subjects. They start doing so in the fourth grade where the decline in learning quality first becomes apparent in many South African schools.
Maree says that the close correlation between academic performance and English language comprehension is demonstrated by the high rate of progression of adult learners through Triple E Training’s numeracy programmes. Many of these learners also attended English literacy classes, which includes English reading comprehension as one of the fundamental learning areas. In many instances, learners will first have to complete higher English literacy levels before they can be registered to do AET numeracy at lower levels. This is because their English literacy skills are not sufficiently developed to cope with numeracy training presented in the language. “So many non-native English speakers are being denied an opportunity to improve themselves because they have poor communication skills. Yet, they are very capable employees. Without robust basic English literacy skills, they will not be able to cope with course content at National Qualifications Framework levels 2, 3 and 4. They will also not be able to write their trade tests in English, which is the formal language of learning and instruction, shutting them out of vocational training. This is while the country struggles to develop the artisans it needs to implement the National Development Plan,” he says.
Maree, therefore, welcomes the phased implementation of mother-tongue based bilingual education for fourth grade learners from 2025. As part of the development, a national assessment for fourth graders will replace the traditional year-end exam. Counting 20% towards the promotion mark, it will test learners’ knowledge in mathematics, science and technology and conducted in their mother tongue.
“One study after the next has confirmed that learning in a familiar language helps children to process information more easily, leading to improved cognitive development. When they are taught in a language that they understand, children can focus on the content of the lesson as opposed to struggling with the language of instruction,” Maree says.
He says that another challenge that needs to be addressed is the lack of pedagogy training among South African maths and science teachers, although many local educators are suitably qualified. “The science and art of teaching plays a large part in learner success. Over half of the ninth-grade learners who participated in TIMSS 2019 were taught by teachers who specialised in mathematics but did not have pedagogy training. The just over a quarter of learners who were taught by teachers who specialised in both scored higher than their counterparts who did not. Furthermore, although our maths and science teachers can be considered knowledgeable, they are not as qualified as the TIMSS international cadre of teachers. Also, a relatively low percentage of South African learners who participated in TIMSS 2019 were taught by mathematics teachers who had participated in continuous professional development in mathematics pedagogy or instruction. This is a concern considering the importance of pedagogy in educators’ classrooms and teaching practices which contribute to improved learner performance,” Maree concludes.
