Teachers’ Perceptions on the Effect of COVID-19 on Mathematics Performance in Tanzania

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sector of human life, including health, global economy and education. In Tanzania the learning situation changed when the first case of COVID-19 infection was detected in the country on 16 th March, 2020 in Arusha. This study examines teachers’ perceptions on the effect of COVID-19 on mathematics performance to Standard 7 and Form 4 students in Tanzania schools. A purposive sampling was employed to select potential primary and secondary school mathematics teachers from 7 zones in Tanzania. To avoid the risk of contamination of the COVID-19 virus, mobile phone interviews were conducted among 18 mathematics teachers from 12 schools across 7 zones. Based on thematic analysis and the results from National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA), the findings of the study indicated that there is a slightly drop in the mathematics pass rate of Standard 7 and Form 4 students results in 2020 probably due to the 3 months school academic calendar disruption. It is still not clear how long the pandemic will exist in Tanzania and across the world. However, the study suggests that school head teachers with the support of the Ministry of Education should initiate various innovative interventions that will help all schools in the country to provide learning strategies to their students to improve mathematics performance. While the initiated interventions can be more efficient during COVID-19, they can also help during any other related pandemic in the future. Keywords: COVID-19, mathematics performance, mathematics teachers, primary schools, secondary schools. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-14-04 Publication date: May 31 st 2022