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…
• NicholasSpaull@gmail.com
• @NicSpaull
• www.nicspaull.com/research
• www.resep.sun.ac.za
43