Study shows some teachers weaker than their pupils

By Sam Otieno

Ever wondered why students usually perform disastrously in mathematics in national examinations?

Do you remember cases in school when your mathematics teacher asked the student with the best grasp of the subject to take a piece of chalk and lead the class in cracking an arithmetic problem on the blackboard?

And are there teachers whom students will beat in an examination on the subject they teach them?

One study involving primary school teachers and trainee teachers answered this question — and the findings will perplex parents, discomfit teachers, and amuse their students.

Why? Because Kenyans need not look further for the basis of poor performance: some teachers are within the range of their trainees or just a little better.

The study, conducted by a non-governmental organisation, African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), showed teachers who are supposed to impart knowledge to the students could be the source of poor performance.

The study blames the ignorance of the teachers on the performance in schools. During the study, teachers were asked to sit for an examination similar to those for trainee primary teachers.

On the other hand, the organisation tested the math skills of students from many schools. The average score was 60 per cent for teachers, while the average score for the students was 46 per cent.

The study findings, whose launch was witnessed by Education Assistant Minister, Ayiecho Olweny, say some teachers scored as low as 17 per cent. The highest got 90 per cent.

In primary school

The researcher says for a teacher to be considered competent to teach mathematics in primary school, he or she should score more than 90 marks in a primary teacher college level math exam.

According to the study presented by Moses Oketch, there was a correlation between pupil mean score and teacher score in some of the bottom ranked schools.

"This means that teachers in the bottom ranked schools made some difference in the performance of their pupils in mathematics. In the top-ranked schools, this relationship is non-existent," said Dr Oketch.

Teachers were tested on how effective they taught the subject, while pupils were assessed on how much they grasped.

Memorisation and recitation

In most cases, the study found out, teachers failed to explain to their pupils why they get some questions right or wrong, since they subject the pupils to rot memorisation and recitation.

The study covering 72 primary schools tested 2,437 pupils and 211 primary school teachers. The head teachers of the schools covered were also tested.

The study was conducted in two stages: The first round was conducted between May and July, last year. The second round was conducted between February and March, this year.

Olweny said the study raises concern about the effectiveness of the ministry’s monitoring and supervision of school level curriculum implementation.

"The fact that a teacher scores 17 per cent in a mathematics test on the content he or she is supposed to teach raises a lot of questions about how we select, train teachers, and teachers’ competency," Olweny said.

He said the quality of curriculum delivery must improve for the country to consolidate the gains of the Free Primary Education Programme.

The findings were released on the same day Higher Education Minister, William Ruto, also warned of the influx illegal middle-level colleges.

Government supervision

Mr Ruto said there were nearly 600 technical and vocational training institutions operating without Government supervision. He gave them a 21-day notice to register with the Government. APHRC describes itself as a non-profit, non-governmental international organisation committed to conducting high quality and policy-relevant research on population and health issues in sub-Saharan Africa.

The study calls for periodical assessment of teachers’ competency in their subjects, and a review of the policy on teachers to be assigned subjects of their competence.

"In low-performing schools, teachers may require more pedagogical skills-upgrading to shift their lessons to more learner-centred approaches," the report recommends.

The report suggests teachers may be well trained and yet effective learning still fails in a classroom.

Pedagogical knowledge

"Periodic teacher in-service training, which was rare in most of the sampled schools, is one way of rejuvenating teachers’ pedagogical knowledge, so that they can be re-empowered to adapt best teaching practices," says the study.

The study revealed that the way teachers teach and how learners get exposed to learning opportunities contributes to learner achievement.

Other factors that contribute to learner achievements outlined in the study include dominant methods of teaching, teachers’ knowledge, availability or lack of non-basic teaching aids, head-teacher supervision of lessons, and school-community relations.

The report says head teachers should intensify lesson observations, mentoring, coaching, and professional guidance to improve teaching skills.