Home PodcastMariam Mia Can the issue of poor math and science performance amongst S. African students be resolved? This teacher believes so

Can the issue of poor math and science performance amongst S. African students be resolved? This teacher believes so

by Zahid Jadwat

Research has shown that South African students are struggling with mathematics and science. Whilst a number of factors have been attributed to the poor performance in these subjects, a teacher at a school in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, is trying to improve performance through creative measures.

 

Speaking to Salaamedia, Dr. Khangelani Sibiya, head of department for mathematics and physical science at Siphumelele Secondary School in Richards Bay, said he has had to adopt new strategies in order to combat the negative attitudes hold against math and science.

 

“What is important [for] a teacher who’s teaching this subject is to, firstly, remove the stigma of saying this subject is difficult so that’s why, whenever I’m teaching, I always try to make sure that I come up with an approach that would make them enjoy mathematics; trying by all means to create the conducive environment,” he said.
 
Dr. Sibiya has used creative measures in his approach to tackling the negative attitude. These include singing and demonstrations during his lessons.
 
“When I’m teaching mathematics, I always relate what I’m teaching with soccer because I understand that most of the kids – especially boys – like soccer.”
 
The plight of poor performance in math and science has been a cause of concern, with data showing that South African students consistently scored in the bottom three countries for a range of tests in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
 
In the Study, conducted in 2019, just over a third (37%) of South African learners demonstrated basic mathematical knowledge, and 28% had acquired basic science knowledge. This means that 63% of learners had not acquired basic mathematical knowledge and 72% had not acquired basic science knowledge.
 
Mariam Mia spoke to Dr. Khangelani Sibiya. Watch the full interview here:

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