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Papers by willy mwakapenda

Research in mathematics education, 2021

AVRUG-bulletin, Dec 20, 2022

In its recent attempt to improve the quality of education in Malawi, the Malawian Ministry of Edu... more In its recent attempt to improve the quality of education in Malawi, the Malawian Ministry of Education, Science and Technology changed its secondary school curriculum; the new curriculum began to be implemented in 2017. So far, little is known about the challenges facing the implementation of this new secondary school curriculum. It is against this background of a knowledge gap that this study was undertaken: to investigate in depth the challenges facing the implementation of the new curriculum from the perspectives of school management, and ways of overcoming those challenges to improve the implementation. The study adopted the concerns-based adoption model. This model describes the process of change experienced by those at school level attempting to implement the new curriculum. The theory is concerned with the effect of the nature of the investment in people, time and resources as they pertain to the implementation of educational innovations. The study was conducted in four secondary schools in Lilongwe district in Malawi. A qualitative research method was used, employing a case study design. The participants were four head teachers, four deputy head teachers and 12 heads of department from the sample schools. Data were collected through interviews, document review and classroom observation of heads of departments’ lessons in order to provide methodological triangulation. Data were analysed using the inductive thematic content analysis method. The results of the study indicate that the implementation of the new secondary school curriculum faces multiple challenges, the main ones being ineffective orientation training for curriculum implementers; inadequate numbers of qualified teachers, especially in science subjects; insufficient teaching and learning materials; too few and inadequately equipped science laboratories; and discrepancy in the administration of continuous assessment. Based on the findings, recommendations are made for better implementation of the curriculum.

Zdm – Mathematics Education, May 15, 2012

University of the Witwatersrand, Sep 1, 1995

This article opens up a discussion on the power tha t teachers have in mathematics curriculum at ... more This article opens up a discussion on the power tha t teachers have in mathematics curriculum at the Fu rther Education and Training level. It is related to the general question: who holds the power in school mat hematics education in South Africa? To what extent is the te acher given an opportunity to exercise their power in mathematics assessment? If the teacher is given pow er, what does that power allow teachers to do, and under what conditions does this happen? The case of mathe tics is presented here to illustrate the above co mplex questions of teacher power in new forms of assessme nt in the curriculum. Introduction From the vantage point of new forms of assessment, this article is an attempt to unpack the question o f teacher power by looking at how teachers are positioned in the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) Assessment Guidelines for Mathematics (Grades 10-12, Departmen of Education (DoE), 2005). I focus on the new assessment guidelines for two reasons. Firstly it i ...

Proponents of education reform in Malawi have recently recognized the need to provide secondary e... more Proponents of education reform in Malawi have recently recognized the need to provide secondary education that is more responsive to the needs and realities of society. The research being reported in this article investigated teachers' experiences in experimenting with the use of everyday experiences in teaching mathematics in two schools in Malawi. This study explored the extent to which teachers' classroom practices and their views of mathematics teaching changed, as a consequence of using everyday experiences in their classrooms. The results show that there were limited changes in teachers' practices and their views of mathematics teaching due to teachers' emphasis on meeting school examination requirements. For these changes to have occurred, considerable teaching commitments were required.

South African Journal of Education, 2008

I identify and discuss ways in which different types of connections are described in the South Af... more I identify and discuss ways in which different types of connections are described in the South African mathematics National Curriculum Statement and its related documents, particularly at the Further Education and Training (FET) level. I argue that connections are central to the way the discipline of mathematics, its learning outcomes, and assessment standards are conceptualised. The notions of representation and integration are found to be key aspects in understanding connections in mathematics. Using these two notions, I then analyse connections in the National Curriculum Statement and its related documents. Finally, theoretical and practical implications of connections in the curriculum are identified.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES, 2017

The aim of this study was to investigate the English syllabus of Tamil Nadu Equitable Education s... more The aim of this study was to investigate the English syllabus of Tamil Nadu Equitable Education system or Uniform System of School Education or Samacheer Kalvi Thittam with respect to the teachers' perspective. The method of this study was Descriptive Method. Stratified proportionate sampling method was followed by administering a close-ended questionnaire. Proportionately nine different schools, three government schools, three government aided schools and three self-financing schools in and around Trichy district, Tamil Nadu were selected for the study. Three English teachers from each school, tota lof twenty-seven teachers were sampled. The responses from the teachers were measured as Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree. More favourable responses were received from the teachers' towards the syllabus. The conclusion of the study establishes that the English syllabus of the system is good when compared to the previous one. The study recommends that the syllabus may be framed in depth so that it enables the students to appear for competitive examinations.

African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2019

In this article, we report on findings from a study that explored perspectives of Grade 10-12 lea... more In this article, we report on findings from a study that explored perspectives of Grade 10-12 learners from two rural secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa on the nature of mathematics prior to and at the end of a year-long mathematics mentorship programme. We use Ernest's (1994) orientations about the nature of mathematics in order to make sense of the descriptions of participants' mathematics classroom experiences before and after the mentoring programme. The analysis demonstrates shifts in perspectives which were characterised as positive. We account for these shifts by arguing that the nature of the mentorship programme led to positive shifts in learners' perspectives on the nature of mathematics.

Africa Education Review, 2016

ABSTRACT This article emerged from an analysis of learners’ responses to a task presented to lear... more ABSTRACT This article emerged from an analysis of learners’ responses to a task presented to learners studying Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy (ML) in Gauteng, South Africa. Officially, Mathematics and ML are two separate learning areas. Learners from Grade 10 onwards are supposed to take either one or the other, but not both. This means that by Grade 11, learners would have acquired different kinds of knowledge and problem solving skills depending on which of these they take. The article demonstrates that this possibility may not necessarily happen. Grade 11 learners from both learning areas appeared to have acquired sufficient knowledge and skills and were able to solve similar Mathematics tasks in similar ways, with similar adequacy. We argue that, contrary to common perceptions in the field of Mathematics education (particularly in South Africa), engaging in ML does not and should not make one less mathematically advanced than engagement in pure Mathematics.

African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2009

This article examines how issues of teaching and learning have been implemented in South African ... more This article examines how issues of teaching and learning have been implemented in South African classrooms. We apply a framework of curriculum implementation (Rogan & Grayson, 2003) to studies of classroom teaching and learning reported in the literature. In doing so, we use the framework to categorise and comment on the research studies and determine the applicability of the framework to science and mathematics classrooms. Our review findings show that the framework's constructs of 'profile of implementation' and 'capacity to innovate' can be applied, with some adaptation, to both mathematics and science classroom studies. Fewer studies have involved the third construct 'outside support'. We conclude that there is an inevitable dislocation between policy and curriculum implementation, and that the framework provides a useful notion of 'feasible implementation' by suggesting how (in a series of small steps) individual schools can put into practice new curriculum policy.

African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2003

Abstract: This article reports on an investigation that used concept mapping to explore first-yea... more Abstract: This article reports on an investigation that used concept mapping to explore first-year university students' understanding of key secondary mathematical concepts. The extent to which these students were able to make connections between concepts was a focus in the ...

The International Journal of Learning: Annual Review, 2007

Mathematics Education in a Context of Inequity, Poverty and Language Diversity, 2016

In 2003, Jill Adler and Stephen Lerman published a chapter entitled “Getting the description righ... more In 2003, Jill Adler and Stephen Lerman published a chapter entitled “Getting the description right and making it count: Ethical practice in mathematics education research”. They use the context of mathematics education in southern Africa to illuminate and open up a conversation about the ethical, methodological and political challenges faced by researchers in this and other similar contexts. These challenges relate to defining what counts as a problem in mathematics education, making the research “count” both locally for the participants and more broadly for the mathematics education community, and producing descriptions that are “right” in the sense that they are rigorous, valid, comprehensive and respectful. In this chapter we review how Jill has responded to these challenges in her own research over the past 20 years. We ask: How does respect for practice, democracy, truth and persons play out in her research descriptions? Are they right? For whom and how do they come to count? We also draw on our own research histories of working with Jill to reflect on how her research practice has impacted the postgraduate supervision space.

This study used a collaborative and reflective case study approach to investigate the extent to w... more This study used a collaborative and reflective case study approach to investigate the extent to which everyday experiences can be used as a vehicle for changing learning and teaching of secondary school mathematics in Malawi. It documents constraints and possibilities of achieving change in two severely overcrowded and poorly-resourced classes.