By Wachira Kigotho
Girls may have performed poorly in maths in last year’s KCSE but there is no evidence to support that they are inferior to boys.
Recent studies in many parts of the world indicate stereotypes about female inferiority in maths are in sharp contrast scientific findings.
According to the Unesco research project, The School Effectiveness and Education Quality in Southern and East Africa (SACMEQ), the problem is that many students fail to master maths.
"Virtually in 14 countries in eastern, central and southern Africa, performance in maths has taken a downward trend," says the project’s report. Schools fail to prepare students properly in maths and sciences.
The findings are supported by Dr Nicole Else-Quest, an educational psychology professor at Villanova University in US and a lead author of a comprehensive study that investigated gender differences in maths.
Dr Else-Quest and her fellow researchers examined data from the internationally recognised Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Programme for International Student Assessment, representing about half a million secondary school students aged 14-16 from 69 countries. "Our results show that girls perform at the same level as the boys when they are given the right educational tools and have visible female role models excelling in maths, " says Dr Else-Quest in the last month’s issue of Psychological Bulletin.
But that is what is missing in Kenya and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In last year’s KCSE girls scored a mean average of 18.1 per cent in maths compared to 23.63 for boys. Overall average score for the subject stood at 21.13 per cent.
Blame teachers
But the bottom line is that maths results in KCSE for many years have been unimpressive. Taking into account that this was the second lowest mean score among 27 subjects sat last year, there could be other causes of poor performance in the subject rather than the assumed girls’ low academic abilities.
According to Unesco, challenge of maths in secondary schools has to do with how the subject is taught from primary school. "Some students finish primary school with maths ability of Standard Two and Three pupils," says a SACMEQ report.
In this case, thousands of pupils — boys and girls alike — join secondary school already several years behind the expected level in mathematics. Evidence indicate only less than 25 per cent of candidates in KCPE score B- and above in maths. "Blame the teachers and not the students," states a report by the Kenya Teachers’ Colleges Principals Association. The issue is that teachers who had failed maths in KCSE or scored low grades teach most pupils in primary schools.
According to the principals’ report, most primary schools teachers were admitted to training colleges with poor KCSE grades. "Most of them had D+ and C- in KCSE and failed maths, sciences, Kiswahili and English," says the report.
Subsequently the impact of poor primary teachers is being felt as pupils join high school without basic skills in mathematics. The crisis is intensified by poor language skills among teachers who are unable to explain basic maths concepts in English.
Mother tongue
Even in secondary schools, some teachers are unable to communicate effectively in English and use mother tongue to teach maths although exams are set in English. Mean score performance in English at KCSE is below 40 per cent, a score that illustrates a lot has to be done towards improvement of the language. Last year’s mean score in English for girls was 39.18 per cent against boys 39.33 per cent. Such statistics reveal that most students go through high school without learning basic language.