The low achievement trap : comparing schooling in Botswana and South Africa / edited by Martin Carnoy, Linda Chisholm, Bagele Chilisa.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Carnoy, Martin.

Chisholm, Linda

Chilisa, Bagele

James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education, Elementary--South Africa--North-West.

Education, Elementary.

Education, Elementary--Botswana--South East District.

Botswana--South East District.

South Africa--North-West.

Physical Description:

xx, 172 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cape Town : HSRC Press, 2012.

Summary:

The Low Achievement Trap is an empirical study of student mathematics learning in Grade 6 classrooms that is unique in its focus on two school systems shaped by different political histories on either side of the Botswana-South Africa border. The study provides a detailed examination of the capacity of teachers-how they teach, how much they teach, and what they teach. Because of this wealth of detail, The Low Achievement Trap gives us much greater insight than previous research into why students seem to be making larger gains in the classrooms of South Eastern Botswana than in those of the North West Province, South Africa. Rather than identifying a single major factor to explain this difference, the study finds that a composite of inter-related variables revolving around teachers' mathematics knowledge and their capacity to teach mathematics are crucial to improving education in both regions. The message is a hopeful one: good teachers can make a difference in student learning. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Background to the study 6

2 Exploring policy differences and similarities 13

3 Conceptual framework and methodology 35

4 The school profile in the Botswana and North West samples 52

5 The school context: Characteristics of principals and instructional leadership 61

6 Learner knowledge of mathematics 73

7 Teacher knowledge of mathematics 89

8 Teacher proficiency to teach mathematics 105

9 Opportunity to learn and teaching and learning mathematics in Grade 6 classes 114

10 Are more knowledgeable teachers better teachers and do they provide more opportunity to learn? 128

11 Testing the overall model of student achievement 136

12 Conclusions 150.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 159-166) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the James Hosmer Penniman Book Fund.

ISBN:

079692368X

9780796923684

OCLC:

792880032

Publisher Number:

99952588667