South African Teacher Content Knowledge in Local and International Perspective
Nic Spaull www.nicspaull.com/research NAPTOSA Gauteng Leadership Conference August 2013
Overview • Background information to SA education system • South African teachers’ content knowledge – – – –
By sub-group Relative to other African countries In specific content areas Relative to Grade 8 international students
• Educational outcomes in Gauteng 1995-2011 2
Bird’s-eye view of the South African education system
Not all schools are born equal
? Pretoria Boys High School
SA public schools? 4
Education and inequality? Quality of education
Duration of education
Type of education
SA is one of the top 3 most unequal countries in the world
Between 78% and 85% of total inequality is explained by wage inequality
Wages
• IQ • Motivation • Social networks • Discrimination
High productivity jobs and incomes (17%) • • •
Mainly professional, managerial & skilled jobs Requires graduates, good quality matric or good vocational skills Historically mainly white
Type
Labour Market University/ FET • • • •
Vocational training Affirmative action
•
-
High SES background +ECD
Minority (20%)
Big demand for good schools despite fees Some scholarships/bursaries
Unequal society Majority (80%)
Low quality secondary school
Low SES background
Often manual or low skill jobs Limited or low quality education Minimum wage can exceed productivity
Low quality primary school
Attainment
•
High quality primary school
-
Low productivity jobs & incomes •
Type of institution (FET or University) Quality of institution Type of qualification (diploma, degree etc.) Field of study (Engineering, Arts etc.) Some motivated, lucky or talented students make the transition
Quality
• •
High quality secondary school
cf. Servaas van der Berg – QLFS 2011
6
South African teacher content knowledge
Teacher Content Knowledge • Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (2001, ch.2) recommends that mathematics teachers need: – “A thorough mastery of the mathematics in several grades beyond that which they expect to teach, as well as of the mathematics in earlier grades” (2001 report ‘The Mathematical Education of Teachers’)
• Ball et al (2008, p. 409) – “Teachers who do not themselves know the subject well are not likely to have the knowledge they need to help students learn this content. At the same time just knowing a subject may well not be sufficient for teaching.”
• Shulman (1986, p. 9) – “We expect that the subject matter content understanding of the teacher be at least equal to that of his or her lay colleague, the mere subject matter major” 8
South Africa specifically… • Taylor & Vinjevold’s (1999, p. 230) conclusion in their book “Getting Learning Right” is particularly explicit: • “The most definite point of convergence across the [President’s Education Initiative] studies is the conclusion that teachers’ poor conceptual knowledge of the subjects they are teaching is a fundamental constraint on the quality of teaching and learning activities, and consequently on the quality of learning outcomes.”
9
Carnoy & Chisholm (2008: p. 22) conceptual framework
10
Teacher knowledge Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. CK – How
Demonizing teachers is popular, but unhelpful
to do fractions PCK –
“For every increment of performance I demand from you, I have an equal responsibility to provide you with the capacity to meet that expectation. Likewise, for every investment you make in my skill and knowledge, I have a reciprocal responsibility to demonstrate some new increment in performance” (Elmore, 2004b, p. 93).
how to teach fractions
Student understands & can calculate fractions
Background: Data SACMEQ
Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality
14 participating countries
SACMEQ II (2000), SACMEQ III (2007)
Nationally representative
Testing :
SACMEQ III:
o
Gr 6 Numeracy
o
Gr 6 Literacy
o
HIV/AIDS Health knowledge
South Africa
9071 Grade 6 students 1163 Grade 6 teacher tests
392 primary schools •
See SACMEQ website for research
Background Data
13
Mathematics teacher content knowledge (SACMEQ 2007)
Source: Stephen Taylor
14
Reading teacher reading score by SCHOOL LOCATION of schools SES (SACMEQ 2007) 840
820 BOT KEN
800
LES MOZ
780
NAM SEY
760
SOU
SWA TAN
740
UGA ZIM 720
700
Rural
urban
15
Mathematics teacher mathematics score by SCHOOL LOCATION (SACMEQ 2007) 950
900 BOT KEN LES
850
MOZ NAM SEY 800
SOU SWA TAN UGA
750
ZIM
700
Rural
Urban
16
Mathematics teacher mathematics score by SCHOOL LOCATION (SACMEQ 2007) Rural lower bound confidence interval (95%)
Rural upper bound confidence interval (95%)
Urban lower bound confidence interval (95%)
Urban upper bound confidence interval (95%)
1000
Maths-teacher mathematics score
950 900 KEN
850 ZIM 800 SWA 750 MAL 700 650
SOU
LES
ZAM
NAM
TAN
SEY
UGA
BOT
MOZ
ZAN
600
17
Mathematics teacher mathematics score by QUINTILE of schools SES (SACMEQ 2007) 950
Kenya
Mathematics teacher mathematics score
900
South Africa 850
Tanzania Zimbabwe
Botswana Kenya Namibia Seychelles
Swaziland
800
South Africa Swaziland Tanzania Zimbabwe
750
700 1
2
3
4
5
Quintiles of school SES
18
Reading teacher reading score by QUINTILE of schools SES (SACMEQ 2007) 880 Seychelles 860
Mean Reading teacher reading score
840 South Africa 820
Botswana Kenya
800
Kenya
780
Botswana Namibia
760
Swaziland
Namibia Seychelles South Africa Swaziland Tanzania Zimbabwe
740
Tanzania
720
700 1
2
3
4
5
Quintiles of school SES
19
Student and Mathematics teacher’s content knowledge by province (14 countries 115 provinces)
SACMEQ 2007 Student and teacher mathematics content knowledge by province (115 provinces across 14 countries) Student maths score
Teacher's additional content knowledge
Maths teacher content knowledge score
1000
1000 Western Cape
900
900
Gauteng 800
Limpopo
800
Mpumalanga 700
700
600
600
500
500
400
400
300
300
200
200
100
100
0
0
21
Which content areas do South African teachers struggle with?
Mathematics teacher performance by content area (SACMEQ III - 2007) Arithmetic operations (10 Qs)
Space and shape (8 Qs)
Fractions, ratio and proportion (10 Qs)
Algebraic logic (9 Qs)
Rate of change (7 Qs)
100
90
80
Percentage items correct
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 ZAM
LES
ZAN
BOT
MAL
MOZ
NAM
SWA
SOU
ZIM
SEY
UGA
TAN
KEN
Country
23
Rate of change example SACMEQ III (2007) 401/498 Gr6 Mathematics teachers SACMEQ Maths teacher test Q17 Correct
1 23%
2 22%
Quintile 3 38%
4 40%
5 74%
Avg 38%
7
Correct answer (7km):
38% of Gr 6
Maths teachers
2 education systems 24
Percentage of Grade 6 mathematics teachers with correct answer on Q17 rate of change example of the SACMEQ III (2007) mathematics teacher test 90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
38%
40%
80% 71% 62%
30%
20%
10%
31%
31%
ZAM
LES
49%
49%
51%
SWA
BOT
UGA
55%
38%
35%
24% 17%
0% ZAN
MOZ
MAL
SOU
NAM
TAN
SEY
ZIM
KEN
25
SA Grade 6 Teacher knowledge... Q6: 53% correct (D)
Q9: 24% correct (C)
English Q9: 57% correct (D)
26
Suggestive of serious deficits in teacher content knowledge
27
What do South African teachers know relative to international students?
•
Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (2001, ch.2) recommends that mathematics teachers need: – “A thorough mastery of the mathematics in several grades beyond that which they expect to teach, as well as of the mathematics in earlier grades” (2001 report ‘The Mathematical Education of Teachers’)
Background… • The SACMEQ 2007 teacher test tested Grade 6 Mathematics teachers.
• The TIMSS 1995 test tested Grade 8 students from 38 countries in maths and science. • 16 items were common to both tests… 29
South Africa Colombia Philippines Iran, Islamic Rep. Portugal Denmark Iceland Scotland England Norway New Zealand Spain Lithuania Greece Cyprus Germany Latvia (LSS) Sweden ZANZIBAR United States Romania Australia TIMSS Gr8 Avg Belgium (Fr) Ireland Canada Switzerland Netherlands SOUTH AFRICA LESOTHO MOZAMBIQUE Slovenia Austria Israel Russian Federation ZAMBIA Bulgaria France Slovak Republic NAMIBIA Belgium (Fl) MALAWI Czech Republic BOTSWANA SACMEQ AVG. SEYCHELLES Hong Kong SWAZILAND Korea UGANDA TANZANIA Singapore KENYA
Average percentage correct on 16 common mathematics items
SACMEQ Grade 6 teachers’ average correct response (dark red) and TIMSS Grade 8 average correct response (light red) on 16 items common to Gr 8 TIMSS Mathematics test 1995 and SACMEQ Grade 6 mathematics teachers test 2007 80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
30
Solutions?
Possible solution… • The DBE cannot afford to be idealistic in its implementation of teacher training and testing – Aspirational planning approach: All primary school mathematics teachers should be able to pass the matric mathematics exam (benchmark = desirable teacher CK)
– Realistic approach: (e.g.) minimum proficiency benchmark where teachers have to achieve at least 90% in the ANA of the grades in which they teach, and 70% in Grade 9 ANA (benchmark = basic teacher CK)
• Pilot the system with one district. Imperative to evaluate which teacher training option (of hundreds) works best in urban/rural for example. Rigorous impact evaluations are needed before selecting a program and then rolling it out • Tests are primarily for diagnostic purposes not punitive purposes 32
Accountability stages... •
SA is a few decades behind many OECD countries. Predictable outcomes as we move from stage to stage. Loveless (2005: 7) explains the historical sequence of accountability movements for students – similar movements for teachers? –
Stages in accountability movements:
1) Setting standards
Stage 1 – Setting standards (defining what students should learn),
– CAPS –
Stage 2 - Measuring achievement (testing to see what students have learned),
2) Measuring achievement
– ANA –
Stage 3 - Holding educators & students accountable (making results count).
3) Holding accountable
– Western Cape performance agreements? “For every increment of performance I demand from you, I have an equal responsibility to provide you with the capacity to meet that expectation. Likewise, for every investment you make in my skill and knowledge, I have a reciprocal responsibility to demonstrate some new increment in performance” (Elmore, 2004b, p. 93).
33
How have educational outcomes changed in Gauteng between 1995 and 2011?
Figure 1: Provincial scores for Grade 8 Mathematics, TIMSS 1995*, 1999, 2002 (with 95% confidence interval) 1995* Maths Gr8
1998 Maths Gr8
2002 Maths Gr8
500 450 400
TIMSS Maths score
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 LMP
ECA
NWP
KZN
MPU
FST
GAU
NCA
WCA
NATIONAL
35
Figure 5: Provincial average for Grade 9 Mathematics, TIMSS 2002 and TIMSS 2011 (with 95% confidence interval) - TIMSS benchmark used here is the average TIMSS middle-income Grade 8 mathematics mean score 2002 Maths Gr9
2011 Maths Gr9
600
500
400
300 474
200 313
321
333
342
343
350
354
383
433
403 352
100
0
36
Figure 7: Provincial improvement between TIMSS 2002 and TIMSS 2011 - Grade 9 Mathematics (with 95% confidence interval) 120
100
Improvement between Gr9 TIMSS 2002 and TIMSS 2011
80
60
40 55
56
KZN
MPU
62
63
63
NWP
ECA
FST
77
80
LMP
GAU
67
20 10 0 -11 WCA
NCA
National
-20
-40
-60
-80
37
Provincial matric pass rates as a percentage of Grade 2 enrolments 10 years earlier Gr2 enrolments - 2001
Gr10 enrolments - 2009
Gr12 enrolments - 2011
Gr12 matric passes - 2011
Matric passes as a % of Gr2 enrolments 10 years earlier 250,000
70% 60% 60%
200,000
51% 50% 39%
150,000 36%
41%
41% 40%
37%
30% 30%
100,000 18%
20%
50,000 10%
0
EC
NW
FS
LP
KN
MP
NC
WC
GP
Gr2 enrolments - 2001
209,954
64,940
54,481
128,831
212,734
76,468
16,885
65,220
115,464
Gr10 enrolments - 2009
150,372
68,078
63,999
171,076
218,528
89,809
21,421
70,451
162,626
Gr12 enrolments - 2011
65,359
25,364
25,932
73,731
122,126
48,135
10,116
39,960
85,367
Gr12 matric passes - 2011
37997
19737
19618
47091
83204
31187
6957
33110
69216
18%
30%
36%
37%
39%
41%
41%
51%
60%
Matric passes as a % of Gr2 enrolments 10 years earlier
38
0%
Matric performance in Gauteng 2011 Gauteng
24%
26% Drop-out before Grade 12 Fail matric Pass matric Pass with Bachelors
14% 36%
39
Other provinces… Gauteng
24%
26% Drop-out before Grade 12 Fail matric Pass matric Pass with Bachelors
14% 36%
40
Matric pass rates as a percentage of Grade 2 enrolments 10 years earlier for selected provinces – see Taylor (2012: p. 9) EC
GP
KN
LP
WC
70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
0%
Gr12 in 2004 (Gr2 in 1994)
Gr12 in 2005 (Gr2 in 1995)
Gr12 in 2006 (Gr2 in 1996)
Gr12 in 2006 (Gr2 in 1996)
Gr12 in 2009 (Gr2 in 1999)
Gr12 in 2010 (Gr2 in 2000)
Gr12 in 2011 (Gr2 in 2001)
EC
12%
14%
15%
14%
13%
16%
18%
GP
44%
45%
43%
47%
47%
52%
60%
KN
30%
30%
29%
31%
30%
35%
39%
LP
30%
34%
31%
33%
24%
36%
37%
WC
40%
37%
38%
39%
36%
41%
51%
41
Conclusions 1.
Below-basic teacher content knowledge is a binding constraint to progress – Teachers cannot teach what they do not know
2.
The average Grade 6 mathematics teacher in South Africa has lower CK than Grade 6 maths teachers from other African countries and lower levels of CK than Grade 8 students from some OECD countries. – Serious problem which needs well-thought out, rigorous, proven ways of improving CK to basic levels
3.
Teachers in South Africa have highly variable content knowledge (urban/rural, rich/poor) – High quality teachers in SA are the minority and are highly unequally distributed
4.
The Department does not seem to have a credible plan to address the crisis in teacher content knowledge. – Programs should be piloted and evaluated before roll out – Billions have been wasted on ineffective teacher training, partially because the impact of those programs was not proven prior to implementation
5.
Of all the nine provinces, Gauteng has improved the most and is most efficient in “converting” Grade 2 enrolments into matric passes
42
Comments, questions and suggestions welcome… •
[email protected]
• @NicSpaull • www.nicspaull.com/research
• www.resep.sun.ac.za 43
