A study of teachers’ attitudes towards selected challenges in the teaching of Mathematics in Maphumulo Circuit
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Date
2015
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
The present study examines teachers’ attitudes towards selected challenges in the teaching of Mathematics in the Maphumulo Circuit. The was designed to determine teachers’ attitudes towards the selected challenges brought about by additions or introduction of new chapters to the FET Mathematics curriculum; to establish the relationship, if any, between teachers’ attitudes and the following variables: gender, age in years, academic qualifications, professional qualifications, post level, teaching experience in years and employment status; to establish the role played by the status of resources in influencing teachers’ attitudes towards the selected challenges, that is, the introduction of new chapters to the FET Mathematics curriculum; and to mention reasons for teachers’ happiness or unhappiness with the newly introduced chapters to the FET Mathematics curriculum. To achieve the aim and objectives of the study a Likert 5-point scale questionnaire was, checklist, open-ended questions and quantitative data analysis methods were administered to a sample of one hundred Mathematics teachers in Maphumulo Circuit. The study results reveal that Mathematics teachers are negatively inclined towards the selected topics. The findings also show that gender, age, academic qualifications, professional qualifications, post level, teaching experience and employment status influence teachers’ attitudes towards the selected topics. The findings further reveal that teachers have serious problems regarding matters related to the shortage of teaching resources. Finally, the findings reveal that teachers are not happy with the newly introduced chapters to the FET Mathematics curriculum. The discussion of findings coupled with their implications is highlighted. The avenues for future research are indicated.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015
Keywords
mathematics --teaching --Maphumulo Circuit