1.15 Summary of chapter
2.6.8 With whom are you teaching (accessibility?)
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Furthermore, teachers may make sure that the teaching and learning for Mathematics is accessible to all learners in the Intermediate Phase.
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to the diversity of needs of all learners through increasing access in learning, cultures, and communities, and reducing exclusions within and from education. This suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase should adhere to their experiences in order to accommodate all learners learning Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase. Moreover, Mishra and Mishra (2013), Bishop (1991), as well as Hogarth and Hilgert (2002) assert that there are three levels of accessibility namely; culture, physical, and financial accessibility.
Furthermore, culture accessibility is defined by Mishra and Mishra (2013) as collective programming of the mind which distinguishes members of one group from another, which is passed from generation to generation. Thus, culture is understood as a product teachers can offer learners and treated as a number of static entities or facts that may be collected, put into proper order and presented to learners one-by-one (Marchetti et al., 2013). In line with this, it is fair to state that the predominant approach to the teaching and learning of culture in the Mathematics classroom is mostly information-oriented (Kumaravadivelu, 2008); (Ahmad, Rajapaksha, Zhang, et al., 2014). Thus, culture includes issues of race, language, religion that affects teaching and learning, and this requires teachers to be aware of their learners’ culture (Wegrzyniak, Hedderly, Chaudry, & Bollu, 2018). In other words teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase should be driven by attitude experience to choose the language of teaching and learning Mathematics in the classroom. Steen, Costantino, Shapiro, and Medsger (1990), Loos and Yeo (2014) as well as Ziegler et al. (2010) describe Mathematics as the language and science of patterns which requires teachers to allow learners to bring in their culture during teaching and learning. This suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase should use attitude experiences in order to maintain and accommodate learners of different cultures during the teaching of Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase.
Further to this, parents and the state should ensure that learners access education by providing transport to learners to and from school.
Moreover, Hogarth (2002) defines financial accessibility as a basic money management that includes budgeting, saving, investing, and insurance. Furthermore, financial accessibility is a skill of understanding the financial concepts and risks, motivation, and confidence to apply such skill and understanding in order to make effective decisions across a range of financial context, to improve the well-being of the school community, and to enable participation in
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economic life. This suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase should use their skill experiences in order to assist learners in financial accessibility. Moreover, a qualitative case study conducted by Mokoena (2013) on the implementation of no fee School Policy. The study analysed how schools in the Bolabedu cluster circuit of Mopani District implemented the No Fee Policy regarding the use and management of school finances.
Furthermore, four schools (two primary and two secondary schools) were sampled. Further to this, three methods of data collection were used: interviews, document analysis, and observation. Interviews were conducted with school principals, teachers, parents, and learners.
Consequently, the study reveals that the government used multi-strategies to provide services to the people, which included consultation with communities for adequate provision of and access to services and resources. In addition to the above, amongst other strategies, it is developed by the South African Schools Act (Act No 84 of 1996) (SASA), National Norms and Standards for Schools Funding (1998), Amended National Norms and Standards for School Funding (2006), School Fee Exemption Policy and No-Fee School Policy (1998) (Karlsson, 2002). Moreover, one of the findings indicates that the school has the potential to improve its capacity to execute its financial responsibility if provided with support. This suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics should be driven by knowledge experience when providing resources to learners doing Mathematics Intermediate Phase and no learners may be suspended from school due to parents failing to pay school fees. In addition to the above, Mathematics teachers may allow learners to have physical accessibility to the school in order to achieve the curriculum goals.
Moreover, Kolbe et al. (2012) concurs with Hannah (2013) when defining physical accessibility as the amount of time students spend in school and impacts students learning and teaching time as well as students achievements. Furthermore, teachers and students should use various modes of transport or walking to school and spend a minimum of seven hours a day from Monday to Friday. Moreover, teachers are expected to provide a quality education for all learners while overcoming challenges such as transportation barriers and a lack of access to needed services such as clinics (Haegel et al., 2017). In addition, learners spend two or more hours a day getting to and from school. In line with this, the time required to go to and from school can reduce opportunities for learners to engage in extra Mathematics lessons. The National Learner Transport Policy was developed in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and other stakeholders and aims to address the challenges of
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accessibility and the safety of learners (Peters, 2015). This suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase may be driven by knowledge experiences to access learners for teaching and learning. In addition to the above, the environment where Mathematics lessons are taking place plays major role when it comes to the accomplishment of the goals of the intended curriculum.
Furthermore, CAPS is vocal about the environment where learners should access education.
Further to this, “To address barriers in the classroom, teachers should use various curriculum differentiation strategies”(DBE, 2011, p. 5). This suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase should be driven by knowledge experience pertaining to the learner accessibility for teaching and learning processes. In addition to the above, CAPS is silent about the cultural accessibility regarding teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase.
Thus, this suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase should bring their attitude experience in order to observe and accommodate different languages, race, and religion for learners. CAPS in the policy document is silent about the financial accessibility.
However, the National Norms and Standards for School Funding policy is vocal about the funding of schools (Sayed & Soudien, 2005). Moreover, schools were ranked according to quintiles, poor schools ranked quintile 1, 2, and 3 are declared no-fee schools and are allocated a higher state subsidy than the affluent schools that are declared quintile 4 and 5 (Nkhama, Ndhlovu, Dvonch, Siziya, & Voyi, 2015). This suggests that teachers teaching Mathematics in the Intermediate Phase should be driven by knowledge experience so that all learners will freely access Mathematics education. In addition to the above, the environment where the Mathematics teaching and learning process may play a major role comes to the accomplishment of goals of the intended curriculum.