University-school partnerships for social justice in mathematics and science education : the case of the SMILES project at IMSTUS
Date
2011
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Education Association of South Africa
Abstract
My purpose in this paper is to situate a university-school mathematics and science education partnership within a social justice perspective in education. The focus of the systemic intervention endeavour was school-based teacher professional development in which university-based facilitators embarked on class visits with the aim of identifying teacher needs, co-teaching and offering professional support over a three-year period. This was in contrast to evaluation (inspection visits) often undertaken by the subject advisors under the auspices of the Department of Education which, for historical reasons, tend to be viewed with suspicion by teachers and teacher unions. Five historically disadvantaged secondary schools and their 10 feeder primary schools were involved in this study with a view to providing equal opportunities to learners from marginalized communities in the Cape Winelands district of the Western Cape. Initial results suggest that an intervention programme that is responsive to local needs can go a long way in bringing about collaborative teacher professional development that leads to reflective practice in professional learning communities and can add value to the quality of student achievement in the gateway subjects of mathematics and science. © 2011 EASA.
Description
CITATION: Ndlovu, M. C. 2011. University-school partnerships for social justice in mathematics and science education : the case of the SMILES project at IMSTUS. South African Journal of Education, 31(3):419-433, doi:10.15700/saje.v31n3a538.
The original publication is available at http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za
The original publication is available at http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za
Keywords
College-school cooperation -- South Africa, Educational equalization, Mathematics -- Study and teaching, Science -- Study and teaching
Citation
Ndlovu, M. C. 2011. University-school partnerships for social justice in mathematics and science education : the case of the SMILES project at IMSTUS. South African Journal of Education, 31(3):419-433, doi:10.15700/saje.v31n3a538.