Comparing engineering lecturers and students’ explanations for performance in mathematics at a TVET College.

Abstract

Various studies have reported numerous reasons on how mathematics performance among South African students is affected. This study aimed to explore the Engineering lecturers’ and students’ explanations for performance in mathematics at a TVET College. The Attribution theory (1958;1970) underpinned this study and was useful in interpreting and providing insight to the participants’ explanations on the reasons for poor performance in mathematics. The case study method was employed in a qualitative approach to gather data. Semi-structured interviews with four lecturers and four students on one campus from one of the TVET Colleges in the KwaZulu-Natal province were used to generate data. The data collected were analysed and discussed in the following themes: poor performance in mathematics, factors linked to poor performance, challenges in improving mathematics performance and improving students’ performance in mathematics. This study's findings revealed a lack of standardised admission criteria for students to study standardised subject content, reflecting significantly at the end of the year in the throughput rates and certification. This study also revealed that there is a need for the professional development of lecturers. The study recommends: proper screening at admission; TVET College, in collaboration with DHET, must review the recruitment policy to improve throughput rate; TVET colleges should organise periodical specialised training workshops to capacitate lecturers with mathematics content knowledge to improve student performance in mathematics.