K-12 Namibian teachers’ beliefs on learning difficulties in mathematics: Reflections on teachers’ practice
: Shemunyenge Taleiko Hamukwaya
: Uffe Thomas Jankvist, Marja van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Michiel Veldhuis
: Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education
- Publisher: European Society For Research In Mathematics Education
: Utrecht
: 2019
: Proceedings of the Eleventh Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education
: 4652
: 4659
: 978-90-73346-75-8
: http://www.mathematik.uni-dortmund.de/~prediger/ERME/CERME11_Proceedings_2019.pdf
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/51064427
This
paper explores K-12 Namibian mathematics teachers’ beliefs on difficulties
associated with learning mathematics in school and examines their perceptions
of problems affecting Mathematics Learning Difficulties (MLD). 231 teachers
(100 primary and 131 secondary teachers) completed the survey. The findings reveal
that teachers frequently frame students’ difficulties within a deficit
framework seeing students’ difficulties as emanating from cognitive
disabilities. Teachers’ identification of potential causes of MLD is discussed.
The paper concludes by considering the
pedagogical implications of providing additional support to students with MLD
and by providing recommendations for future research on changing teachers’ negative
perceptions towards students with MLD to optimize students’ performance.
