CHAPTER 5: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
5.2 Presentation of data under themes drawn from responses by teachers, lesson observations and the
5.2.3 Background factors
5.2.3.4 Offering emotional support as a background factor related to the teaching of critical thinking skills
The lack of emotional support was noted to be a hindrance in young learners’ development of critical thinking skills. The subsequent interview transcripts indicate that critical thinking is likely to be inhibited in young learners who are not in emotionally supportive environments:
Teacher 4: …looking down upon himself or herself…
Teacher 5: …learners from poor backgrounds may be fearful…
Teacher 6: …reluctant to play because he/she comes from a poor background…
Teacher 9: …a child from a poor background lacks self-esteem…
Teacher 10: …learners from better family backgrounds are motivated…
Teacher 11: …some learners stay in very remote areas where there are no much things to stimulate critical thinking…
The preceding transcripts reflect that young learners learn better if they are in a good emotional state. The participants also reveal that early experiences have a direct impact on how young learners develop learning skills as well as social-emotional abilities. Emotional support offered by teachers to young learners during mathematics teaching is related to the teaching of critical thinking skills. If young learners are supported by their teachers during mathematics teaching, their critical thinking skills are likely to be stimulated. The presented excerpts from interviews display a child lacking confidence, who is fearful, not highly motivated and has a low self-esteem. Young learners characterised by such cultural behaviour traits find themselves reluctant to answer
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questions or ask questions and, by extension, leading to their failure to think critically. The kind of young learners shown need emotional support from their teachers to stimulate their critical thinking skills. This is exemplified by what obtained through video analysis.
Table 5.7:Cultural behaviour traits that may stifle the development of critical thinking skills in young learners
Grade/level Behaviour(s) captured Culturally related aspect(s) emerging ECD A
3-4 years
Teacher: “You are not speaking; speak out the issues while you find where to place each of the items. I want to hear you speaking, speak, speak.”
Socialised not to speak in the presence of adults
ECD B 4-5 years
Teacher: “Speak loudly. What shape is this?” Socialised not to speak in the presence of adults.
Grade 1 6 years
Teacher: “You are not speaking; you count while speaking. Speak up, and you are just quiet with stones in your hands. Count, speak up.”
Teacher: To the rest of the class, “Let us be quiet.”
Young learners normally get confused on what really to do. In one moment they should speak while they should be quiet in another.
Grade 2 7 years
Teacher: “Someone to help her; she is not speaking
loudly.” Socialised not to speak
in the presence of many people.
Grade 3 8 years
Teacher: “Don’t hide your face. Someone to help him.”
Learner: Kept quiet not responding to the question only gazing at the floor.
Young children are shy to speak while other people are looking and listening to them.
Some cultural behaviour traits appear to interfere in the teaching and learning of young learners.
Young learners who lack confidence, who are shy to speak need scaffolding during mathematics teaching for them to develop critical thinking skills. This can be done by allowing learners to assist one another by working in groups and encouraging them to make constructive noise. Young learners cannot be expected to think critically when they play a passive role during mathematics teaching.
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5.2.3.5 Reinforcement of schoolwork as a background factor related to the teaching of critical thinking skills to young learners
Responses drawn from interview transcripts also indicate that young learners need reinforcement from parents, guardians or other people in their homes. The subsequent transcript data drawn from interviews reveals that both the home and school play a crucial role in enhancing learners’ critical thinking skills through reinforcement. Lack of reinforcement has been revealed as a setback to learners’ schoolwork and their development of critical thinking skills. This is corroborated by the following interview transcripts:
Teacher 12: …some of the things not in the child’s culture…
Teacher 13: …learners come from homes where no one would encourage them to do schoolwork…
Teacher 14: …nobody at home asks about schoolwork…
Teacher 15: …knowledgeable parents may give learners tasks to do…
Teacher 16: …failing to work in loco parentis with the school personnel…
Teacher 19: …some learners have textbooks at home to revise what they have learnt at school…
Teacher 21: …parents may not place importance on the learner’s going to school…
Teacher 23: …parents may absent the child and certain concepts maybe covered during the child’s absence…
Based on the preceding interview transcript data, parental involvement might play a crucial role in young learners’ learning and development. Empirical research has shown that the stronger the levels of parental support in a programme, the greater the benefits to the child. Experience in working with young learners has also shown that many young learners would like their parents to see them engaging in their activities. Based on the given interview transcripts presented, because reinforcement of schoolwork is not the norm in young learners’ homes, it proved to be a challenge due to cultural related behaviours. On the same note, very few incidents were observed in which teachers encouraged learners during the teaching of mathematics. This lack of encouragement from
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both their homes and teachers could be the reason learners did not explicitly display critical thinking skills during the teaching of mathematics. This is corroborated by the following table:
Table 5.8: Learner encouragement used to reinforce during the teaching of mathematics Grade/level Behaviour(s) captured
ECD A Teacher: “Write while speaking so that it becomes clear that you know.”
ECD B Teacher: “When you speak, speak lively so that I see that you are clever.”
Grade 1 Teacher: “Read the question before raising your hands.”
Grade 3 Teacher: “Read the problem several times before attempting the problem.”
The findings reveal that there was lack of reinforcement to enhance young learners’ critical thinking skills. Teachers who encourage learners during the teaching of mathematics reinforce