BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE FOR STUDY
4.11 The Impact of Educational Disadvantage on the Learning of Science
135
The core of this study is the acquisition of discipline-specific literacies in science and an understanding of any perceived challenges that the FP students experience in respect o the acquisition of such literacies. The reference to student underpreparedness for science at HEIs due to their educational disadvantage has already been alluded to (in Chapter 1). It has thus been necessary to review existing literature with regard to this issue. This is presented in next part of this Chapter.
136
even more complicated and problematic for students who intend to pursue university science degrees. This point is attested by that contained in the country’s NPHE (2001) which claims that “the school system then was unable to produce large numbers of matriculants who have the required proficiency in mathematics” (26). Besides the fact that university science studies necessitate competence in mathematics, life sciences and/or physical sciences, students would also have to cope with the literacies specific to each of these disciplines. Students who enter the faculty to pursue science or science-related degrees with inadequate science competencies face the possibility of poor or even under performance in their tertiary studies. Where this is coupled with language barriers to understanding science, then the chances of academic success becomes even more remote.
This study serves to show whether this ‘articulation gap’ is manifested in the FP students and, if so, how this gap is narrowed.
4.11.2 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Tests: Implications of Performance
If poor performance in mathematics and science at university level is traced to the articulation disjuncture at school level, then the statistics of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests need mentioning. Research into the TIMSS has been undertaken by various researchers (Howie, 2001a; 2001b; 2003; Reddy, 2006;
Dempster and Reddy, 2007). South Africa has consistently been the lowest-performing country (out of 38 to 50 participating countries) in mathematics and science in two successive TIMSS tests. Howie (2003) notes that in the TIMSS conducted in 1995, where South Africa participated with 41 other countries, South African mathematics learners came last with a mean score of 351, far lower than the international mean score of 513.
Third International Mathematics and Science Study Repeat (TIMSS-R) conducted in 1999 revealed that Grade 8 learners once again performed poorly. Their mean score of 275 being significantly below the international mean of 487. Similarly, a later TIMSS-R conducted in 2003 revealed no improvement in mathematics and science by South African students.
Dempster and Reddy (2007) point out vast differences in the TIMSS average achievement scores of learners in schools categorized by ex-racially determined departments of education. These researchers investigated the relationship between the readability of the multiple choice questions in the test and the performance of two groups of students: one
137
group, with limited proficiency in English and who attended ‘African’ schools; the other being those with better proficiency in English and who attended ‘non-African’ schools. The results from their study are quoted below:
Learners from non-African schools performed significantly better than learners from African schools. Three readability factors (sentence complexity, unfamiliar words, and long words) were analyzed. High sentence complexity resulted in random guessing in non-African schools, and favouring an incorrect answer in African schools. Some TIMSS items have complex wording, with numerous prepositional phrases and clauses, and unclear questions.
Recommendations for maximum readability and comprehensibility were not met, and these items are therefore invalid for learners with limited English- language proficiency. Learners employ a range of strategies in attempting to answer questions that they do not understand (906).
Evidence from the research undertaken by Dempster and Reddy (2007) is relevant for this study, especially because students in the FP, where this study is undertaken, come from largely educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and are accepted into the programme with low matriculation points in a science subject (as outlined in Chapter 1). These are EAL students, a factor relevant to this study which also explores whether the acquisition of science literacies is a consequence of language difficulties.
The TIMSS throws light on the relationship between performance in the sciences and language. Reddy (2006) outlines the nature of the test in respect of assessment:
TIMSS assesses in the areas of mathematics and science and was framed by two organising dimensions: a content domain and a cognitive domain. The content domain defined the specific mathematics and science subject matter covered by the assessment and the cognitive domain defined the set of behaviours expected of learners as they engage with mathematics or science.
The content domains that framed the mathematics curriculum were: number, algebra, measurement, geometry and data. The cognitive domains for mathematics were: knowing facts procedures, using concrete, solving routine problems, and reasoning. The content domains that framed the science curriculum were: life science, chemistry, physics, earth science and environmental science. The cognitive domains were: factual knowledge, conceptual knowledge and reasoning and analysis (xi).
The description of the nature of the TIMSS tests is relevant for this study, especially since science disciplines require conceptual and procedural understanding and intellectual strategies required for problem-solving which have already been discussed in the preceding part of this Chapter. The impact of the absence of these competencies in science students entering tertiary institutions, albeit at their lower schooling years can be detrimental,
138
considering that science learning is hierarchical and cumulative, meaning that learning a new concept is dependent on the internalisation and understanding of previous ones.
Howie (2003) reports that in the TIMSS 1995 and TIMSS 1999 studies, more than 70% of the pupils wrote the achievement tests in their second or third language. A national option, an English test, was included together with the TIMSS-R mathematics and science tests in an attempt to ascertain the level of the pupils’ language proficiency. The investigative study into student performance done by Howie (2003) to figure out the relationship between mathematical achievement and English-language proficiency revealed that learners tended to achieve higher scores in mathematics when their English language was higher and vice versa. The national overview by TIMSS reported significant language and communication problems with South African pupils who were learning mathematics in a second language. Pupils in all three Grades (7, 8, 12) showed a lack of understanding of both mathematics questions, and an inability to communicate their answers in instances where they did understand the questions. Pupils performed particularly badly in questions requiring a written answer (Howie, 2003).
The studies outlined above which were based on the mathematics and science literacy tests rather than the content-specialized test have revealed the impact of poor schooling and language proficiency on student performance in mathematics and science. Research (Monyana, 1996; Arnott and Kubeka, 1997; Adler, 1998; Taylor and Vinjevold, 1999; Mji and Makgato, 2006) points at the following indicators for poor performance by South African learners at school level mathematics and science (as well as in school studies in general):
... inadequate subject knowledge of teachers, inadequate communication ability of pupils and teachers in the language of instruction, lack of instructional materials, difficulties experienced by teachers to manage activities in classrooms, the lack of professional leadership, pressure to complete examination driven syllabi, heavy teaching loads, overcrowded classrooms, poor communication between policy- makers and practitioners, as well as lack of support due to a shortage of professional staff in the ministries of education (Howie, 2003: 2).
The reference to the factors above is pertinent to this study as it reflects the schooling environment and experiences of the majority of students who qualify to study tertiary science through the alternative access route, i.e. foundation programmes, the entry eligibility of which has already been commented on. This study intends to explore these
139
issues. Although it may be argued that the TIMSS tests are a national survey researching the achievement of mathematics and science at secondary school level, it contributes to this study. It is essential because students entering higher education studies are expected to bring along with them basic knowledge, skills, literacies and competencies that form a foundation for higher order learning and thinking that are the essence of tertiary education.
The deficiency of these at tertiary level has severe economic and social impacts. When educationally disadvantaged learners do not qualify for a direct entry into science disciplines in the HE sector or are underprepared for tertiary level science studies (resulting in higher attrition rates or failure to graduate within the stipulated time frame), then the pool of potential black scientists and engineers in South Africa becomes severely restricted.
The TIMSS tests have revealed students’ difficulties in both English-language proficiency (especially with those attending the former DET schools) and literacies in science, both of which are significant to this study. Howie (2003) has isolated “inadequate communication ability of pupils and teachers in the language of instruction” (2) as being one of the performance indicators in school science and mathematics.
4.11.3 The Impact of Educational Disadvantage on Learning Academic Science
On the subject of LoLT, Dempster and Reddy (2007) state that “the official language policy in South Africa is that the home language should be the medium of instruction for the first three years of schooling. In many African schools, English is introduced as a subject in the third year but takes over as the LoLT from the fourth year” (909). This language policy necessitates a discussion around additive and subtractive bilingualism (Cummins, 1984a; 1984b).
In additive bilingualism, the first language continues to be developed and the first culture to be valued while the second language is added. In subtractive bilingualism, the second language is added at the expense of the first language and culture, which diminish as a consequence. “With “subtractive” bilingualism, the child’s first language skills are replaced or “subtracted” in the process of acquiring the second language (Cummins, 1984a: 83).
Subtractive bilingualism can contribute to cognitive disadvantage. According to Cummins and Swain (1986), conceptual understanding and reading and writing skills may not have
140
been developed in the first language before the switch to the second language. The impact of this is conveyed by Clarence-Fincham (2000) who states that learners have to develop their literacy skills and conceptual knowledge while learning the unfamiliar language, the medium through which the learning takes place. BICS develop more rapidly than CALP.
Cummins’ (1984a) studies of second language learners indicate that children can typically develop BICS over a period of one to two years but academic language, CALP, can take up to five to eight years to master. This issue of BICS and CALP (Cummins, 1984a) has already been outlined in Chapter 2. This study addresses the impact of underdeveloped CALP on science discourse acquisition.
Angélil-Carter and Paxton (1994) state that “because students from the ex-DET system lack mastery of CALP (Cummins,1984a), where a task is context-reduced and cognitively demanding, a situation of cognitive overload develops for the student from DET schooling”
(8). These researchers qualify this point by stating that this load is increased by the fact that each discipline (at university) has its own specialized discourse. Students in HEIs who struggle with the LoLT (English), which may be their additional language, may thus miss the subtle linguistic cues used in science or at lectures by instructors who are either first language speakers of the LoLT or are highly proficient speakers of it despite it not being their native language. The existence of this is explored in this study.
Many South African students enter tertiary institutions with low reading speed, poor reading skills, the inability to grasp linguistic cues and incompetence at inferring from texts. They are therefore unprepared for the reading demands in the various academic disciplines (Pretorius, 2000a; Nel et al. 2004; Evans, 2002). A 2005 study undertaken by Kirkwood (2007) investigating the reasons why students in a science foundation programme at UKZN struggled with reading, the following factors were highlighted:
reading was daunting because of unfamiliar vocabulary, the difficult language of the texts challenges the ability to unpack their meaning; texts are too long and reading the texts is time-consuming. Similarly, in Clark’s (1993) view, the main reason for student difficulties with context-reduced science textbooks is that these reading strategies have not been developed. Besides, many students come from oral cultures and may have had hardly any exposure or interaction with books prior to formal reading at school, although the teaching of reading relies on learners already being apprenticed into such practices (Heath, 1994;
Rose, 2004). Paxton (1998) explains that teaching at the former DET schools placed “a
141
heavy emphasis on rote learning ... which elicited superficial comprehension rather than critical thinking” (139). These factors can impact negatively on student performance and progress in their tertiary studies. The issue of reading is addressed through critical research question 1 which extracts information on discipline-specific literacies needed in science;
while critical research question 2 explores whether reading emerges as a perceived difficulty. In light of this, responses to critical research question 3 which outline the measures taken by DSs to assist students with acquiring discipline-specific literacies for science discourse is intended to show if reading strategies are an emerging theme.
A number of students entering university are underprepared for the demands and the writing genres that compose academic writing. A number of students from disadvantaged schooling backgrounds have been taught English as a first additional language at school.
Their writing tasks were informal, descriptive, creative, narrative and personal. A study undertaken by Kapp and Arend (2011) into the 2008 and 2009 NSC English First Additional Language (EFAL) examinations taken by non-mother-tongue speakers of English (i.e. students for whom English is an additional language) revealed the following:
“... texts that do not lend themselves to close, critical analysis, either at sentence or discourse level ... texts written at the level of oral conversation ... writing tasks that are mainly descriptive, decontextualised, uncritical and cognitively undemanding” (5-6)
Many of these students hail from schooling backgrounds where writing was perceived as “a technical process of transmitting finished thought from mind to paper according to a fixed set of grammatical rules. This is the instrumental view of writing as a set of discrete skills, which once learned, may be applied to any context” (Moore, 1998: 84). This involves the focus on grammatical competence, which is knowledge of the grammatical surface structures of the language such as rules or word formation, spelling and punctuation.
Linked to this, is the belief that students’ writing problems can be solved if attention is paid to grammar.
4.12 Underpreparedness for University Studies: Results of National Benchmark Test Project (NBTP)
There has been widespread research and concern about students’ underpreparedness for university studies. Researchers (Cox, 2000; Lowe and Cook, 2003; Hay and Marais, 2004;
142
Nel et al. 2009; Wilson-Strydom, 2010; Bradburyand Miller, 2011; Marshall et al. 2011) have conducted various studies to pinpoint the reasons for the underpreparedness.
The most recent research on students’ inadequate competencies and poor academic literacy skills have been evident in the results of the 2009 pilot study of the National Benchmark Test Project (NBTP). The NBTP, commissioned by Higher Education South Africa (HESA), was administered to more than 12 202 students entering university for the first time at seven South African universities. The participating universities were UCT, UKZN, Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), Stellenbosch University, Rhodes University, UWC and Wits. The domains tested were: academic literacy, quantitative literacy, and mathematics; and performance was categorized according to the benchmark levels: proficient, intermediate and basic.
According to Yeld (2009), the National Benchmark Tests (NBTs) have been designed to provide criterion-referenced information to supplement the NSC, the new qualification at the end of schooling. The objectives of the test were:
● to assess entry-level academic and quantitative literacy and mathematics proficiency of students;
● to assess the relationship between higher education entry-level requirements and school-level exit outcomes;
● to provide a service to higher education institutions requiring additional information to assist in placement of students in appropriate curricular routes and;
● to assist with curriculum development, particularly in relation to foundation courses (76).
In the academic literacy domain, the results of the test indicated serious weaknesses in basic grammar and syntax, understanding genre (‘audience’, register, tone), distinguishing main points from surrounding detail, and following arguments in text (Cliff, 2009 cited in Yeld, 2009: 78). The results for academic literacy revealed that more than half (52.63%) of the students were less than proficient (as reflected in Graph 1 on the next page).
143
Graph 1: February 2009 pilot results, academic literacy (Yeld, 2009: 78)
In an analysis of the statistics, Yeld (2009) offers the following commentary:
It can be seen that the largest single category for academic literacy in the prevalent medium of instruction in higher education (English) is the proficient’
band. However, almost as many students fall into the ‘intermediate’ category, and if one adds the numbers of students in the ‘basic’ category, those less than
‘proficient’ constitute a majority ... The poor achievement levels in the domain of academic literacy strongly point to the need for higher education institutions in South Africa to provide extensive support in language development, not only for a small minority of registered students, but for the majority (78).
The results of the mathematics test indicated major weaknesses in algebra, trigonometry and geometry and problem solving involving more complex reason procedures (Bohlman, 2009 cited in Yeld, 2009: 80). An outline of the AL as a university support structure has been discussed in Chapter 2 of this study. This study has included the responses of academic literacy specialists - responses which can be used to better understand the challenges of students’ inadequate use of academic literacy presented here.