Secondary School Subject Research Articles

Mathematical modelling in the discourses of the KOM and PISA frameworks and teacher interviews

ABSTRACT Mathematical modelling is emphasised in curricula worldwide. Since 2006, mathematical modelling has been considered a fundamental process in the mathematics subject in Norwegian upper secondary schools. This study aimed to identify tensions in the approaches to mathematical modelling expressed in teacher interviews (N = 4) and framework discourses (KOM and PISA) by four characteristics of communication (word use, routines, visual mediators and endorsed narratives). The tensions identified encompassed students’ abilities to make choices and decisions during modelling activities and connection to specific mathematical content or real-life situations. Teachers also questioned the relevance of mathematical modelling, even though the main reason for the implementation of mathematical modelling in education is to make school mathematics relevant for everyday life.

مشكلات الكتابة العربية وحلولها لطلاب الصف السابع بالمدرسة المتوسطة الاسلامية الأهلية "السلام" بانجيلان طوبان

This research aims to analyze the errors in Arabic writing among 7th-grade students at MTS As-Salam. Arabic language plays a crucial role in understanding and using Islamic religious texts and is one of the key subjects in secondary schools. However, many students face difficulties in learning Arabic, especially in writing.
 The research was conducted using an error analysis method. Data were obtained from the writings of 7th-grade students at MTS As-Salam throughout one semester. The results of this analysis provide an overview of the types of errors commonly made by students in Arabic writing, as well as their contributing factors.
 Based on the research findings, several common types of errors were identified, such as errors in using Arabic letters (huruf hijaiyah), punctuation, affixes, and sentence structures. These errors may hinder the comprehension and interpretation of the texts they write. Contributing factors to these errors include a lack of understanding of Arabic writing rules, insufficient practical writing exercises, and the influence of different native languages.
 Therefore, further efforts are needed to improve the quality of Arabic language teaching at MTS As-Salam. Teachers should provide more practical exercises in Arabic writing and offer a deeper understanding of writing rules. Additionally, collaboration between teachers and parents is essential to help students enhance their Arabic language skills outside the school environment.
 This research is expected to make a positive contribution in understanding and addressing Arabic writing errors among 7th-grade students at MTS As-Salam. By identifying common errors and their causes, it is hoped that the school can implement more effective learning strategies focused on enhancing students' Arabic language proficiency.

Follower voluntariness in secondary school subject departments: the interplay of influence and motivation

ABSTRACT Follower voluntariness is central to the operation of any work group and arises from the interplay of leadership influence and follower motivation. By following a qualitative methodology embodied in semi-structured interviews, this research considered how voluntariness operates. It focused on secondary school subject departments – these being chosen because they are the sites for direct and unmediated interactions between leaders and followers. Thus a purposive sampling strategy was adopted. The research took place in the UK and Malaysia. The data were analyzed thematically, codes generated by the interviews being used to identify emergent trends and ideas. It was found that teachers’ intrinsic motivation is a complex field consisting of ideology, professionalism and personal narratives. This was most obviously stimulated by autonomy, thus supporting the view that distributed leadership is motivational. Where leaders were found to have a major influence, it was in the accessing of followers’ personal motivational fields through the use of external reinforcers. The implications are that leadership has a marginal effect on follower motivation and, by extension, follower voluntariness, although leaders who are sensitive to the full scope of their followers’ motivational fields will be more successful than those who are not.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TECHNOLOGICAL COMPONENTS AND INVENTIVE SKILLS AMONG MALAY LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Technology use in classroom can improve teachers’ ability to deliver effective and
 relevant content. Teachers should be more prepared to apply technology to ensure that
 students will have more fun and have a high interest in continuing to learn in the era of
 globalisation which is based on the use of these information communication technology
 elements in the classroom during the teaching and facilitation process. This study
 identifies the relationship between technological knowledge, technological content
 knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, technological pedagogical content
 knowledge, and inventive skills for teachers. A total of 400 questionnaires were
 distributed to teachers who taught Malay language subjects in secondary schools in
 Malaysia. To test the hypothesis, the structural equation using the PLS-SEM framework
 was used. The results showed that technological knowledge, technological content
 knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, and technological pedagogical content
 knowledge have a positive relationship with inventive skills for teachers.

Program “Country of Aipin” (Out-of-Class Reading Lessons, Grades 5–7)

In his work, a literature teacher should always place special emphasis not only on the acquisition by children and adolescents of a certain amount of knowledge, but also on the development of the child’s cognitive and creative abilities as an individual, and the formation of a sense of patriotism. When a teacher introduces a child to the wonderful world of literature from the Little Motherland, he is able to teach him to make decisions and perform moral actions, i.e. master the key competencies that modern quality education requires. At all times, an important component in training and education is the formation of a patriotic feeling and respect for national culture. It is in this context that the “Country of Aipin” Program was compiled (extra-curricular reading lessons, grades 5–7), which is based on such a form of work as literary local history. The “Country of Aipin” program (extra-curricular reading lessons, grades 5–7), aimed at supporting and promoting reading, will help children immerse themselves in the literary world of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra, perceive a book written by a local author as a source of spiritual ideals that shape the moral worldview of a growing child generation of Ugra. The curriculum for extracurricular reading was compiled for teachers of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra to conduct extracurricular reading lessons in grades 5–7 of a secondary school. The purpose of these lessons is to develop a taste for serious reading, create conditions for the formation of independent reading activity of schoolchildren in grades 5–7, introduce students to modern Ugra literature, form a general culture and erudition that contributes to the development of verbal logical thinking, cognitive activity, memory and speech. This program is built at the level of interdisciplinary connections. Recommended for teachers of literature and humanities subjects in secondary schools.

Piloting an innovation for teachers’ capacity development in STEM subjects in Nigerian secondary schools

Connecting Learning for secondary school Teachers Capacity Development in STEM (CL4STEM) is a project that aims to pilot innovation and research its effectiveness and potential scaling for building capacity of teachers in secondary school in science and mathematics to foster higher-order teaching with inclusion and equity (HOTIE). It is a South-South collaboration among higher education institutions to adapt and pilot the Connected Learning Initiative (CLix) (http://clix.tiss.edu), which was developed and scaled in India, to new contexts in Bhutan, Nigeria and Tanzania with support from the IDRC. CL4STEM engaged in teacher professional development for newly recruited teachers in Nigeria by implanting and using highly localized and contextualized open education resources (OER), strengthening the use of technology and local resources in teaching enhancing contents knowledge specifically in the sciences and mathematics Data were collected in three phases, baseline, midline, and endline. The findings indicate that teachers' understanding of CL4STEM innovation improved from baseline to endline. At the baseline 2 teachers were still learning how to effectively navigate CL4STEM modules and Telegram group (CoPs) while none was at the endline. There is an increase in the number of teachers exploring ways of improving CL4STEM teaching strategies through further refinement of the modules and CoP participation and/or alternative ways of achieving better results from 1 at midline to 5 at endline. There is a decrease in the number of teachers that are exploring ways of collaboration with other teachers and educators to help impact student learning using CL4STEM teaching strategies from 11 at the midline to 3 at the endline.

The subject matters for the professional vision of classroom management: an exploratory study with biology and mathematics expert teachers

Teacher professional vision of classroom management is one crucial aspect of teacher expertise that has so far been studied without considering the role of teachers’ subjects. However, subject teaching is characterized by typical settings and activities that might require different classroom management strategies. This small-scale explorative study investigates whether twenty expert teachers from two secondary school subjects (biology and mathematics) differ in their professional vision of classroom management. Using video clips of two settings as stimuli, teachers’ eye-tracking data and retrospective think-aloud data were recorded. Think-aloud data were investigated with quantitative content analysis and epistemic network analysis. Expert teachers’ visual attention, their noticing of classroom management events, and their knowledge-based reasoning were compared for both groups. Results reveal subject-specific aspects of expert teachers’ professional vision of classroom management in terms of events noticed and their reasoning about these events. Expert biology teachers were more concerned with suggesting alternative classroom management strategies, particularly strategies addressing aspects to consider when planning activities such as providing structure or preparing the classroom. In contrast, mathematics teachers were more evaluative in their analysis of events and focused more on behavioral management or ensuring students’ engagement in the moment.

A Bourdieusian Analysis of the Conversion Between Mathematical Achievement and Science Capital

Mathematics serves as a universal language and set of thinking tools for science. While prior research indicates associations between academic success in mathematics and science, there is a gap in the research that explores the possible relationship between mathematical achievement during early secondary school (ages 11-13) and subsequent participation in advanced science courses during senior secondary school (beyond age 16). This research is valuable because it could provide further insights into how early achievement in non-science subjects is related to senior participation in science. The analysis of national mathematics test data found that students who studied different science subjects in senior secondary school all had stronger foundational mathematical skills than those who did not. The results differed according to science subjects. The analysis indicated differences of over 7.2 months of equivalent learning at early secondary level in favour of those who studied physics, 6.1 months for those who studied chemistry and 2.5 months for biology. I apply a Bourdieusian lens as a way of explaining students’ conversion of mathematical achievement into participation as a form of science capital. These findings add empirical weight to previous research promoting mathematics as a crucial foundation for science learning. This research has implications for policies and practices that promote learning in mathematics and science pathways.

The Extent to Which Guidance Services in Schools Help Students Choose Their Subjects in Ordinary Level Public Secondary Schools in Mwanga District, Tanzania

This study examined the extent to which guidance services in schools help students choose their subjects in O-level Public Secondary schools in Mwanga District, Tanzania. The Rational Choice Theory guided the study and a convergent research design under mixed methods research approach was adopted. The targeted population was 1 District Secondary Education Officer, 26 heads of secondary schools, 535 subject teachers, 26 Class teachers, 2756 parents and 2756 students. A study employed stratified random, total population and snowball sampling techniques to obtain the sample size of 431 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires and an interview guide. The content and face validity of the research instruments were ensured by MWECAU research experts. The research instruments were pilot-tested in two O-level public secondary schools. The calculated reliability coefficients for subject teachers and students in Likert items found in questionnaires were 0.832 and 0.765. The trustworthiness of qualitative research instruments was determined through triangulation. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22 and presented through frequencies, percentages and mean. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The study found that guidance services in schools, to a high extent, facilitate students to choose subjects. The study concluded that guidance services play a crucial role in facilitating students to choose subjects as the majority of subject teachers, some parents and other education stakeholders help students to be aware of the importance of making proper subject selections in relation to their combinations which will lead them into their intended future careers. The study recommends that schools should recognize the importance of guidance services. The government initiatives should, therefore, prepare qualified teacher-guidance from universities and colleges to ensure the effective provision of guidance services in schools on students' subject choices.

Teachers' perspectives on the relationship between secondary school departments of science and religious education: Independence or mutual enrichment?

AbstractThere is a gap in the research on the relationship between secondary school subject departments, particularly where, as in the case of science and religious education (RE), there is not the traditional relationship that may be seen in science and maths or across humanities subjects. More awareness of content taught in other departments is important for pupils' coherent experience of curriculum and schooling. This article reports on data from 10 focus groups with 50 participants from six universities, where student teachers of science and RE revealed a complex picture of relationships between the two departments in their placement schools. Furthermore, this article reports findings from a survey where 244 teachers and student teachers of science and RE shared their perspectives on the relationship between the two school departments. The measure was adapted from Barbour's typology, a classification describing the nature of the relationship between science and religion in a range of literature. The terms ‘conflict’, ‘independence’, ‘dialogue’, ‘collaboration’ and ‘integration’ were presented to teachers of both subjects. Little evidence was found of conflict between science and RE departments, but more ‘independence’ than ‘dialogue’ between the two departments was reported. In the light of these findings, the benefits of boundary crossing are explored alongside the role teachers should play in boundary crossing.

Evaluation of the Implementation of Vocational Gas and Arc Welding Subjects in Malaysian Secondary Schools

Mata Pelajaran Vokasional Kimpalan Arka dan Gas (MPV-KAG) is an initiative of the Ministry of Education (Malaysia) to provide opportunities for students in academic secondary schools who have not succeeded in getting a place in Sekolah Menengah Teknik (SMT) or Sekolah Menengah Vokasional (SMV). Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the readiness for the implementation of vocational subjects (gas and arc welding) in daily secondary schools in Malaysia. A total of 106 students who took the MPV-KAG course at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Malim, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ledang, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ungku Husin, and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ungku Aziz were involved in this study. The questionnaires for this study were distributed to students who took the MPV-KAG course at the four daily secondary schools. This study uses a descriptive analysis method (mean and standard deviation). The reliability value for the study instrument is α = 0.86. Overall, the results of the study showed that the level of willingness of students to follow MPV-KAG courses, the level of opportunities given by the teacher to the students in doing activities according to their own abilities during the teaching and learning process, and the availability of sufficient, functional, and appropriate workshop equipment facilities throughout the MPV practical class were at a high level, with a mean value of (M = 4.11, M = 4.06, M = 4.29). In conclusion, this study found that the implementation of MPV-KAG in daily secondary schools in Malaysia is in good condition.

An Evaluation of the Attitude of Secondary School Teachers toward Improvisation and Utilisation of Instructional Material in North Eastern Nigeria

This study is set to examine the attitude of secondary school teachers toward the improvisation and utilization of instructional material in northeast Nigeria. The population of the study consists of all teachers in the selected nine secondary schools in the Northeast. The sample of the study was drawn from three states out of the six states that constitute the northeast. They include Bauchi, Borno, and Adamawa states. The data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered to teachers. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques and correlation analysis. Some of the major findings are; there is limited availability of instructional materials for teachers’ use in the school and the ones that are available do not meet the curriculum specifications. The findings also reveal that, there is adequate workshop/equipment for the teaching of Vocational and Technical subjects in secondary schools but inadequate facilities in the laboratory. Some recommendations were made; government should work at setting aside funds for education especially for the procurement of instructional materials. The teachers should also strive at developing skills and abilities to use the instructional material to improve their teaching

Strategies to Mitigate Challenges Facing Students in Selection and Progression in Agriculture Career in Tertiary Institutions of Kenya

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the strategies to be employed to mitigate challenges facing students in selection and progression in agriculture careers in tertiary institutions of Bungoma and Kakamega counties, Kenya. Further, the study formulated a conceptual framework based on the research variables, which also aided the formulation of hypotheses. Using a pragmatic philosophical standpoint as a lens, the study applied convergent design and convergent exploratory strategy for data collection, coupled with mixed methods applying both quantitative and qualitative for triangulation. The data was collected using questionnaires and interview protocols. Due diligence was taken into consideration while collecting and processing data to ensure both the reliability and validity of the study. The study used both descriptive and inferential techniques to analyse the collected data. Thematic analysis was appropriately used to guide and validate the contributions of the study. The greatest challenge to progression was poor Ministry policies on program selection in agriculture subjects in secondary schools of Kakamega and Bungoma Counties. The study revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture could review salary scales and create more job opportunities while the Ministry of Education could make agricultural programs business-oriented and lower entry grades to university or Technical and Vocational Education Training institutions, among other issues. The model coefficient analysis on strategies showed that creating more jobs (β=.221, p<.05), career guiding and counselling (β=.392, p<.05) and provision of scholarships (β=.137, p<.05) were some of the significant strategies to mitigate challenges facing progression in an agricultural career. The findings imply that the mentioned significant strategies are effective in mitigating challenges to progression in agricultural careers. The results obtained should guide efforts for suggesting strategies to promote the career progression of students in agricultural programs in Kenya and inform policymakers on the re-orientation of agriculture education

Towards a typology of secondary school subject departments

ABSTRACT Subject departments are an increasingly important unit of analysis for research on schools and beginning teachers’ experiences. By analysing a practice-based typology of eight departmental types through an exploratory factor analysis of questionnaires completed by beginning teachers (n = 55), the authors refined the typology to four (hierarchical; open; self-promoting; divisive). Further exploration of this refined typology, through in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of six beginning teachers, allowed the authors to illustrate the departmental types in relation to their experiences. These findings highlight some of the ways in which new regimes of accountability and corporatisation are reshaping the ways in which departmental cultures are constructed and enacted. The beginning teachers in this study describe their responses and adaptations to their placement departments in ways that highlight opportunities for Initial Teacher Education partnerships to better anticipate and prepare beginning teachers for the departmentalised nature of their experiences.

Self-efficacy for writing and written text quality of upper secondary students with and without reading difficulties.

Self-efficacy for writing (SEW) and reading ability are some of several factors that may be related to the quality of written text that students produce. The aim of the current study was (1) to explore the variation in SEW and written text quality in L1-Swedish and L2-English among upper secondary students with different reading profiles in L1 (typical reading vs. reading difficulties) and with different study backgrounds (SB1year or SB2years = one or two years of studies of Swedish and English, respectively), and in the next step (2) to explore if individual variations in L1-reading and SEW may explain variation in written text quality. Participants were 100 upper secondary students (aged 17-18) with different reading profiles operationalized as typical reading and reading difficulties. Data consisted of screening for word recognition and reading comprehension, text quality results from argumentative L1- and L2-writing tasks, school information on study background in Swedish/English, and students' responses from an online survey about SEW. As to SEW results, an ANOVA revealed significant main effects for reading profile and study background in L1, but in L2 there was only a significant main effect for reading profile. Written text quality results indicated that there was a significant interaction effect between reading profile and study background in L1, indicating that the significant main effect for reading profile on written text quality was influenced by the group of students with reading difficulties and SB1year. There was a significant main effect for reading profile and study background on written text quality in L2. Students with reading difficulties and SB1year were the most vulnerable group, and they had the lowest scores in L1/L2 SEW and written text quality in L1 and L2. Multiple regression results indicated that word recognition and SEW contributed significantly to L1-text quality, and word recognition, reading comprehension, and SEW contributed significantly to L2-text quality. Thus, this study sheds light on the under-researched area of L1/L2 SEW and text quality of students with reading difficulties at the level of upper secondary school. Pedagogical implications are discussed and highlight the need for writing instruction across subjects in upper secondary school and for extra writing support/scaffolding for students with reading difficulties and shorter study background in the language subjects L1 (Swedish) and L2 (English).

PERCEIVED CHALLENGES OF ICT AS AN EXAMINABLE CURRICULUM SUBJECT IN RURAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS: VOICES OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS IN SOUTHERN ZAMBIA

The study interrogated teachers’ and pupils’ perceptions of Information Communication Technology (ICT) as an examinable curriculum subject in secondary schools of Mazabuka district in Southern Zambia. In 2013 Ministry of Education (MoE) reviewed the National School Curriculum introducing ICT as an examinable subject at the junior secondary school level. This development was, however, received with mixed feelings among different stakeholders across the nation. The study employed Davis’ (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a theoretical framework to establish the teachers’ and pupils’ perceptions of ICT as an examinable curriculum subject. A descriptive research design was used to collect qualitative data from a sample size of 36 participants which included school administrators, ICT teachers, and pupils. Purposive and quota sampling was applied to select the participants. Data were collected using unstructured questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions. The data were analysed thematically by categorization of major and sub-themes that emerged from the study. The study showed that both teachers and pupils had positive perceptions towards ICT as an examinable curriculum subject. The majority of the participants strongly felt that the current times demanded for ICT knowledge in order for learners to fit well in the world of technology. The study also identified challenges faced in the teaching and learning of ICT such as; a lack of trained teachers, inadequate computer hardware and software, and irregular power supply. Various measures were employed in mitigating the challenges such as community engagement, voluntary teaching, class splitting, use of alternative sources of power, and explorations of online resources. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education should revert to its earlier policy position where all schools were to offer ICT as a compulsory examinable subject at the junior secondary school level. The government also should consider the reduction of taxes and tariffs on end-user consumer ICT products such as desktops computers, iPads, projectors, and others.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0019/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Assessment of the Approaches Used in Teaching and Its Influence on Selection of Science Subjects among Female Students in Public Secondary Schools in Arusha District

Teaching approaches and its influence on selection of science subjects among female students in public secondary schools in Arusha District Council, Tanzania was investigated. Objectives were to; highlight approaches used in teaching of science subjects in public secondary schools and determine how teaching approaches influence female students’ choice of science subjects in public secondary schools. Active Learning theory guided the study. Convergent mixed methods design suitable to collect data through questionnaires, documentary analysis and interview guide was adopted. Sample size of 132 respondents; 80 students & 44 teachers selected by simple and stratified random sampling techniques while 8 school heads were purposively selected. Validity was established through expert judgment. Reliability was determined and reliability index, QS, r=0.914 and QT, r=0.912 was obtained. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically alongside research questions and presented in narrative forms while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the SPSS and results were presented in charts and tables. The study revealed that student centred, experimental and outdoor teaching/learning approaches attract more girls in taking science subjects. In conclusion, schools with adequate staffing of science teachers and laboratory materials are likely to adopt student centred, experimental and outdoor teaching/learning approaches which encourage female students in selecting science subjects. It is recommended that, since Tanzania is emphasizing industrialization as a backbone for economic development, science education for female students in all levels should be given a special attention in terms of proper infrastructures, human resources and funding that will enable teachers to adopt the right teaching approaches.

A Preliminary Tentative Comparison of the Structures of Some Chadian Languages with English

This paper examines the structural similarities between English and Chadian languages. Chad is a country in Sub Sahara Africa that exhibits a linguistic heterogeneous situation. The estimate of the number of indigenous languages and dialects spoken in Chad is 180. Thus, the languages chosen for the purpose of this study are Ngambay, Mundand, Musey, Tupuri, and Chadian Arabic. It should be noted that all these languages are not only spoken, but they are also written and used for literary education. In addition, English is a foreign language. It is taught as a subject in secondary schools and as a course at universities. French and Arabic are official languages. So, Chadian students studying English therefore have a complex linguistic background. A case in point concerns students of the Higher Teachers’ Training School in N’Djamena. This paper therefore is an attempt to compare the structure of English with the students’ mother tongues in written production. The Chadian National Alphabet has been used for the transcription of the students’ indigenous languages. The Contrastive Analysis theory has also been adopted to compare the structures of these languages. In a linguistically multi-setting like Chad, it is important to attempt to bring languages closer in order to identify the differences and similarities between them from the point of view of their structures, and problematic linguistic areas that prevent students from learning English successfully. But it is found that students’ mother tongues do not pose any problem, in contrast to French language that has been used in education.

Effect of Problem-Based Learning on Acquisition of Creative Thinking Skills among Chemistry Students in Ogoja Education Zone, Cross River State, Nigeria

The study investigated the effect of problem-based learning strategy in fostering creative thinking skills among senior secondary chemistry students in Ogoja Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. A pre-test, post-test non-randomized control group quasi experimental design was adopted while a sample of one hundred and twenty-five (125) senior secondary two (SS 2) Chemistry students drawn from a population of 2533 chemistry students participation in the study. One co-educational school each was selected from two out of five Local Government Areas in the zone through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. An intact class from each of the two schools was randomly assigned to experimental and controls groups. An instrument titled Creative Thinking Skills Acquisition Scale (CTSAC) with a reliability index of 0.09 was used for data collection. The data obtained was analyzed using mean scores to answer the research questions and the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. The results showed that students exposed to problem-based learning strategy exhibited a higher propensity in the acquisition of creative thinking skills than those taught using the conventional lecture method of instruction. The result further indicated that there is no significant influence of gender on students’ acquisition of creative thinking skills. Based on the result obtained, it was therefore recommended that problem-based learning strategy be used to teach chemistry and other STEM subjects in secondary school to help students develop creative thinking skills.

Effectiveness of literacy and numeracy in commerce subjects among secondary schools in Fiji

This study aimed to evaluate the students’ efficacy in literacy and numeracy skills in commerce subjects in secondary schools in Fiji. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were used to gather relevant data. The findings show that literacy and numeracy skills are essential in commerce subjects, as students require basic literacy and numeracy skills to read, write, comprehend, calculate, and interpret. The findings also showed that parental engagement at an early stage of the child’s life helps improve the child’s literacy and numeracy skills. The results also showed that the “drop everything and read” or DEAR programme and modern technology positively affect students’ literacy and numeracy skills, which helps them do better in commerce classes.