The book represents a crop of wide-ranging research conducted by renown scholars in sub-Sahara Africa revolving around mathematics teaching and professional development programs for mathematics teachers. The research-based proposals and actual how-to-conduct professional development initiatives that enhance effective mathematics instruction are rooted in teacher input and informed by learners’ errors and misconceptions. The book provides a comprehensive snapshot on mathematics teaching, learning and effective professional development programmes for mathematics teachers in sub-Sahara Africa. It is the only research output that advances and disseminates issues of mathematics education and research in the region with input from South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Malawi, Namibia, Lesotho, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.
In the landscape of global education, there is a dire shortage of teachers, exacerbated by declining enrollment rates and a mass exodus of educators, particularly in urban settings. UNESCO's revelation that millions of teachers are needed by 2030 underscores the critical gaps in our ability to provide quality education. As the education sector grapples with these challenges, Transforming Teacher Preparation Through Identity, Development, and Effective Technologies, offers valuable solutions. This compilation responds to the pressing need for a paradigm shift in teacher preparation, offering insights, recommendations, and diverse perspectives from experts worldwide to address the current crisis and shape the future of education. Teacher shortages and diminishing enrollment rates, coupled with the departure of educators, pose a significant threat to the quality of education globally. Urban areas, in particular, witness a disproportionate exodus of educators, creating disparities that impact the most vulnerable students. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the need for innovative, technology-driven solutions in teacher preparation. As schools deal with these issues, the imperative is to not only reflect on the current state of teacher preparation but also to set forth recommendations that will transform the field, ensuring a robust and resilient education system for the years to come.
This book is about mathematics teaching and learning in Africa during the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has evolved to utilize new technologies in the teaching and learning of Mathematics. It is characterized by the fusion of the biological, physical and digital worlds and embodies a new era of innovation in mathematics education, leading to the rapid emergence of new technologies for mathematics teaching and learning. Because 4IR in mathematics education is happening differently in various parts of Africa, the authors of the various chapters in this volume have positioned their work in their respective local contexts. The chapters address a wide variety of interests, concerns, and implications regarding 4IR and Mathematics Education in Africa. Additionally, a number of chapters address teaching mathematics in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the world. Other chapters discuss the implications of inequalities in Africa that effect mathematics education during 4IR. Chapters also incorporate arguments, observations, and suggestions to, improve and transform the teaching and learning of mathematics in Africa during the 4IR. This book highlights a new era of innovation in mathematics education in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, leading to the rapid emergence of new technologies in mathematics teaching and learning. It is a valuable resource for graduate students, people with research interests in the fourth industrial revolution and mathematics educators at any level, including all mathematics teachers; mathematics education curriculum designers and policymakers.
In the drive to achieve universal primary education as one of the Millennium Development Goals, there is an increasing recognition of the urgency of focusing on teacher education to both meet the demand for more than one million qualified teachers required to achieve this goal within sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to combat the sometimes poor quality educational experience reported in the school. Currently, approximately only one third of teachers are qualified to teach. This dearth in qualified teachers also means that secondary and tertiary education need to be improved upon to provide an educated cohort of graduates. This in turn will ensure that the quality of teacher trained and retained within the profession is of a sufficiently high standard to ensure sustainable progress. This volume focuses on the various aspects of teacher education which need to be addressed in order for the wider Millennium Goals to be achieved, but more importantly, so that each African child living within sub-Saharan Africa will have the right to a quality education: ensuring they too experience their right and entitlement as children to reach their full potential - often taken for granted in Western countries – giving African children the necessary tools to build a better future for themselves. Of particular interest to the education researcher and policy maker, this volume’s contributors look at the various issues and challenges around the teacher profession, particularly in relation to resources and practices within sub-Saharan Africa. The contributors examine the issue of building research capacity for educational research within teacher education Colleges and explore the concept of education for sustainable development with the view to improving the development of quality teacher education within the global South. In this volume, research reports are presented highlighting the various challenges within the structure and provision of teacher education within certain national contexts, including assessment and curricula issues, which need to be addressed. This volume goes from the global to the local and examines teacher educator teaching, learning and reflective practice issues within different contexts, as well as exploring alternative pre-service experiences for western teachers who wish to work within the sub-Saharan context as well as some teacher educator exchange programmes between the South and North. Case countries explored include Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar, to mention but a few. Of particular value to the education researcher and policy maker, this book provides a timely resource focusing on an area of neglect, highlighting the central role of the teacher and teacher education towards sustainable development within the sub-Saharan African context.
In the face of emerging challenges in the field of mathematics education, educators and researchers find themselves navigating the complexities of globalization and innovations. As classrooms become more diverse and educational landscapes evolve, there is a need for an understanding of the multifaceted impacts of these forces. The very essence of mathematics education is shifting, influenced by global trends, cultural dynamics, and technological advancements. It is within this context that Impacts of Globalization and Innovation in Mathematics Education offers a profound exploration of the challenges and opportunities that arise in this era. One of the central predicaments faced by educators and scholars is the dynamic nature of globalization and innovation, which introduces unprecedented complexities in mathematics education. While cultural diversity in classrooms brings valuable perspectives, it also poses challenges in developing inclusive and effective teaching strategies. The integration of innovative practices faces resistance due to cultural conflicts and identity issues. Additionally, the fast-paced changes in global trends and the dissemination of information through media influence how mathematics education is perceived and practiced. This creates a demand for a thorough examination of the relationship between globalization, innovation, and the field of mathematics education.
Facilitating Community Research for Social Change asks: what does ethical research facilitation look like in projects that seek to move toward social change? How can scholars weave political and social justice through multiple levels of the research process? This edited collection presents chapters that investigate research facilitation in ways that specifically attempt to disrupt and challenge anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, patriarchy, and sexism to work toward social change. It also explores what it means to develop facilitation practices across multiple contexts and research settings, including specific facilitation methods considered by researchers working with visual and community-based methods with Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities. The complexities of how scholars negotiate decisions within their research with people and communities have an effect not only on how researchers construct their participants and communities, but also on the overall purpose of projects, the ways their projects are shared and disseminated, and what is learned in the doing of facilitation. This book will be of great interest to both emerging and established researchers working within the social sciences. It specifically attends to diverse fields within the social sciences that include health, media studies, environmental studies, social work, sociology, education, participatory visual research methodologies, as well as the evolving field of digital humanities.
Developing Science, Mathematics and ICT (SMICT) in Secondary Education is based on country studies from ten Sub-Saharan African countries: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, and a literature review. It reveals a number of huge challenges in SMICT education in sub-Saharan Africa: poorly-resourced schools; large classes; a curriculum hardly relevant to the daily lives of students; a lack of qualified teachers; and inadequate teacher education programs. Through examining country case studies, this paper discusses the lessons for improvement of SMICT in secondary education in Africa.
The field of education is in constant flux as new theories and practices emerge to engage students and improve the learning experience. Globalization has created new challenges for mathematics educators as they are compelled to respond to the shifting patterns and practices of everyday life and stay abreast of the latest research in education, curriculum, development, and technologies. Globalized Curriculum Methods for Modern Mathematics Education is a comprehensive and timely publication that contains the latest research in mathematics education and modern globalized curriculum development and technologies. The book examines subjects such as teaching competencies, digital games for teaching and learning mathematics, and the challenges and prospects of globalized science curriculum. This is an ideal resource for educators, academicians, teachers, policy makers, researchers, and graduate-level students seeking to further their research in mathematics education.
While everybody recognizes the development challenges facing Sub-Saharan Africa, few have put together coherent plans that offer real hope for any feasible and general improvement. Facing Forward combines an evidence-based plan that not only recognizes the deep problems but provides specific prescriptions for dealing with the problems. In the simplest version, focus on the skills of the people and do it in a rational and achievable manner. †“ Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institute, Stanford University This book offers a clear perspective on how to improve learning in basic education in Sub- Saharan Africa, based on extremely rigorous and exhaustive analysis of a large volume of data. The authors shine a light on the low levels of learning and on the contributory factors. They have not hesitated to raise difficult issues, such as the need to implement a consistent policy on the language of instruction, which is essential to ensuring the foundations of learning for all children. Using the framework of “From Science to Service Delivery,†? the book urges policy makers to look at the entire chain from policy design, informed by knowledge adapted to the local context, to implementation. Facing Forward: Schooling for Learning in Africa is a unique addition to the literature that is relevant for African policy makers and stakeholders. †“ Professor Hassana Alidou, Ambassador of the Republic of Niger to the United States and Canada As the continent gears itself up to provide universal basic education to all its children by 2030, it has to squarely address the challenge of how to improve learning. Facing Forward helps countries to benchmark themselves against each other and to identify concrete lines of action. It forces policy makers to think “where do I go from here?†? “what do I do differently?†? and to examine the hierarchy of interventions that can boost learning. It rightly urges Ministries of Education to build capacity through learning by doing and continuous adaptation of new knowledge to the local context. Facing Forward will unleash frank conversations about the profound reforms that are required in education policy and service delivery to ensure learning for every child on the continent. †“ Dr. Fred Matiang’I, Cabinet Secretary for the Interior and Coordination of National Government, Government of Kenya (former Cabinet Secretary for Education) Facing Forward couldn’t have come at a more opportune time as countries in the region, including Mauritius, focus more on learning outcomes rather than simply on inputs and processes in education systems. The book underscores the important point that African countries need not exclusively model themselves on high-performing education systems in the world. Much can as well be learnt from other countries at the same level of development, or lower, by virtue of the challenges they have faced and successfully overcome. This presents opportunities for greater peer-sharing and networking with these countries. Indeed a number of key focus areas are highlighted in the book that demonstrate good practices worthy of being emulated. These cover domains as diverse as enabling factors leading to improved student progression, strengthened teacher capacity, increased budgetary allocation with a focus on quality, as well as improved technical capacity of implementing agencies in the region. †“ Hon. (Mrs.) Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Republic of Mauritius
