Out of (another) frying pan…? Case studies of the implementation of Curriculum 2005 in some mathematics classrooms

Abstract

In this study we investigate how educators at General Education and Training (GET) level (senior phase) in the South African school system go about teaching problem solving skills, reasoning and communication as indicated in the outcomes-based education (OBE) mathematics curriculum. In comparison to previous curricula, the new OBE mathematics curriculum at the GET level, places more emphasis on problem solving, reasoning and communicating mathematical ideas. This study follows on an article written by Rogan (2004) in which he investigated the implementation of OBE into science classrooms and found that very little has changed in the science classroom since the introduction of C2005. Describing the old curriculum as a frying pan, he found that in most cases learners jumped from one frying pan into another. This paper describes case studies of Grades 8 and 9 mathematics classrooms in secondary schools in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. The study is based on eleven video recordings of mathematics lessons, from different schools. These schools are from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, and have a history of lacking resources. We quantitatively explore to what extent mathematics teachers address the outcomes mentioned in the OBE mathematics curriculum by analysing the video recordings by means of observation tables in which learner and teacher activities are recorded and do a qualitative evaluation of teachers' pedagogical methods, and, generally, how the learning outcomes are addressed.The findings for mathematics agree with those of Rogan (2004) for science that the benefits of OBE are hard to find in the classroom. The only real change is the increased emphasis on group work. The content level is too low, there is a lack of teaching materials and teachers are under prepared. It is doubtful that OBE will succeed in South Africa unless we improve the teachers' content knowledge, teaching materials and resources.