The importance of a good pass in Mathematics/Mathematical Literacy

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Supplementary tuition defined

Instruction is defined as the teaching of a school subject or a skill. Tutoring is usually regarded as the private teaching or instruction of a single pupil or a very small class. In the South African context the term ”supplementary instruction”, or “SI” has become synonymous with formal tertiary support given by peers who have already passed the course. Under “supplementary tuition”, we understand extra tuition at a fee, given to one or small groups of primary or secondary school learners by a provider outside the normal school hours. Supplementary tuition excludes extracurricular subjects like art, music, sport, or lessons given by teachers after hours to complete the syllabus on time. However, it includes paid supplementary tuition,given by teachers or independent providers during term time and during the vacations, and the use of commercially available material such as former/model examination papers and worked answers. Although the TIMMS study reports that more than 75% of grade eight learners in South Africa receive supplementary tuition in mathematics (Baker et al, 2001), this may include lessons given by the teachers to cover the syllabi in time. It could also include help given by family members, which would then fall outside the definition of supplementary tuition in this study.

Sample

In this study, we decided to focus on Grade 11 learners, the first group of Further Education and Training (FET) Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy learners studying the new NCS (National Curriculum Statement) syllabus. The National Senior certificate NATED 550 syllabi were being phased out and the last group of learners studying this syllabus was in Grade 12. Mathematical Literacy was introduced as a compulsory subject for learners who do not take Mathematics as a
subject.
A purposive sample of ten schools in the East London School District, Eastern Cape Province, was identified on the basis of their performance. These were high performing schools according to the definition of CDE (see section 3.3). It was therefore appropriate to the researcher to investigate these specific schools. All ten schools offered Mathematics as a subject (as opposed to only Mathematical Literacy) and their class sizes in Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy were below the national average (49: p1) (Howie, 2001) and the schools’ pass rates close to 100%.

Development of the Instruments

According to Roberts (2004), an existing validated instrument may be modified or a new one created if the researcher is unable to locate a satisfactory instrument that adequately measures the study’s variables. Questionnaires were hence adapted from a study “Improving the Teaching of Science and Technology in the New South Africa” (Rochford, Sokopo & Kleinsmith, 1997). This questionnaire was selected as the research was conducted in science education in Cape Town, South Africa, and was the most appropriate the researcher could locate. Changes were made to satisfy the aims of the current research.
The researcher chose to insert questions on base data of learners surveyed. This would enable comparisons between subjects surveyed in the current study and any future studies done in this or other areas of the country and improve the research base on supplementary instruction in Mathematics/Mathematical Literacy in South Africa.
A study done by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in 2004 pointed out vast differences amongst groups of learners in the educational landscape of South Africa, e.g. with respect to mean age of learners, gender division and performance. Statistically significant differences in achievement levels between groups were also found in a study done by Rochford, Baxen & Gilmour (2001) in the Western Cape. The researcher therefore included questions on age, gender and performance to identify and categorise the population in this particular study.

READ  THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK TO STUDY AGGRESSION IN GRADE R

Chapter 1: Rationale for the Stud
1.1 Supplementary tuition defined
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Background to the study
1.4 Supplementary tuition in South Africa
1.5 Research questions .
1.6 Significance of the study
1.7 Contents of the different chapters
Chapter 2: Literature Review 
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Supplementary tuition as a shadow education system .
2.3 Why does the shadow education system exist? .
2.4 The scale of the supplementary tuition system
2.4.1 Subjects .
2.5 The effectiveness of tutoring
2.6 The importance of the shadow educational system .
2.7 The service providers
2.8 The consumer .
2.9 The impact of supplementary tuition on learners’ academic performance
2.10 The impact of supplementary tuition on learners and mainstream schooling
2.11 Summary
Chapter 3: Methodology 
3.1 Research objectives
3.2 Research design
3.3 Population .
3.4 Sample .
3.5 Instrumentation
3.5.1 Development of the instrument
3.5.2 Pilot study
3.5.3 Validity and Reliability of the instrument
3.5.3.1 Validity.
3.5.3.2 Reliability  .
3.6 Data Collection .
Chapter 4: Data Analysi
4.1 The learners
4.1.1 Gender, age and performance
4.1.2 Satisfaction levels
4.1.3 The importance of a good pass in Mathematics/Mathematical Literacy
4.1.4 More school time for Mathematics/Mathematical Literacy
4.1.5 Supplementary tuition
i) Which proportion of learners receives supplementary tuition? .
ii) The length of time spent on supplementary tuition .
iii) Model/ former examination papers
iv) Perceptions about different forms of supplementary tuition
v) Reasons given by learners who have not received supplementary tuition in 2007
4.1.6 Reasons for unsatisfactory performance
i) The nature of the subject
ii) The time spent on the subject
iii) Factors related to the teaching – learners’ perspective .
iv) The need for individual attention .
v) Lack of resources
4.2 The teachers
4.2.1 Gender, age, qualifications and experience
4.2.2 Completing the syllabus in time
4.2.3 Strategies followed in order to complete the syllabus in time
4.2.4 Reasons for unsatisfactory performance
i) The nature of the subject .
ii) The time spent on the subject
iii) Factors related to the teaching – teachers’ perspective
iv) Lack of resources
4.3 Summary of the data
4.4 Final remarks
Chapter 5: Summary, conclusions and recommendations for further studies 
Appendices
1. Instruction Page .
2. Appendix A: Questionnaire for Grade 11 Learners: Supplementary tuition in
Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy
3. Appendix B: Questionnaire for Teachers of Grade 10 or Grade 11 Mathematics or
Mathematics Literacy
References

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SUPPLEMENTARY TUITION IN MATHEMATICS: EXPLORING THE INDUSTRY IN THE EASTERN CAPE

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