Learning mathematics through parental support during COVID-19 pandemic: Teaching of Junior primary learners in Namibia
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Date
2024
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University of Western Cape
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unexpected and sudden educational changes for
everyone involved, including learners, students, teachers, education officers, policymakers,
guardians and parents. Global associations have focused on their reactions in emergencies by
using elective methods of instruction. The usual face-to-face teaching and learning techniques
were supplanted by homeschooling and e-learning. Everyone involved in education had to
adjust to creative strategies. Most studies focused on teachers' and students' difficulties,
barriers and new challenges. However, parents were also given a new role, especially in the
junior primary phase (Pre-primary to Grade 3), as they were expected to assist by supporting
their children's school subjects, including mathematics. The critical problem explored was
the backlog in learners' understanding of mathematics concepts caused by learning
inequalities during the COVID-19 lockdown. During the COVID-19 lockdown, parents had
to support their children throughout the learning process—the current study aimed to
investigate how parents have been crucial in supporting their children's mathematics learning
at home.
The study was guided by the central question of how junior primary learners learnt
mathematics during the COVID-19 lockdown when supported by parents. The study used a
qualitative exploratory case study design. A purposive convenient sampling was used to
identify research participants. Participants were eighteen (18) Junior Primary teachers and
thirty (30) parents in the Khomas Region. Questionnaires were constructed and administered
to eighteen (18) teachers from three (3) schools in the Khomas region to explore how learners
learnt mathematics at home during the lockdown. Furthermore, individual semi-structured
interviews were conducted with thirty (30) parents about their experiences supporting their
children with mathematics at home. Thirty (30) learners' mathematics workbooks were
reviewed to analyse their progress in learning mathematics as their parents supported them at
home. The anticipated contribution of the study is to identify and document effective
strategies parents use to support their children’s mathematics learning at home, offering
recommendations for Namibian policymakers and educational practitioners to better support
parents as co-educators, especially during crises. It contributes to curriculum development by
incorporating parental involvement as a critical component in early mathematics education
and informs teacher training programs on engaging and collaborating with parents.
Additionally, the study adds to the existing body of research on the impact of parental
involvement in education, particularly in emergency remote learning.
Description
Keywords
COVID-19, Epstein, Junior Primary Learners, Learning Mathematics, Mathematics, Pandemic, Parental support/Involvement, Performance, Post-Covid, Self-regulation, Social Capital Theory (Coleman), Sustainability, Teachers' perceptions, Teaching Strategies, University of Namibia, Namibia, University of Western Cape