Safety Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement in South African Schools

Marien Alet Graham; Mathelela Steyn Mokgwathi; Johannes Jozua Rian de Villiers

doi:10.29333/ejmste/11416

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Marien Alet Graham ¹ ^* , Mathelela Steyn Mokgwathi ¹, Johannes Jozua Rian de Villiers ¹

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¹ Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, University of Pretoria, SOUTH AFRICA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study analysed secondary TIMSS 2019 data for respondents from South Africa and proposed a model containing ten constructs; nine independent variables (socio-economic status and eight variables about safety aspects in schools) and one independent variable (mathematics achievement). Qualitative data was also collected using interviews and field notes. The HLM model identified the following significant predictors to learners’ mathematics achievement: learners whose family members were frequently insulted; who were victims of theft; who were forced to do things they didn’t want to do; who were physically hurt; living in impoverished areas; enrolled in schools with a shortage of or inadequate instructional space; enrolled in schools where physical injury amongst learners is a problem; disrespecting property. Findings from the thematic analysis indicated that participants believed that schools’ safety concerns are associated with learners’ mathematics achievement and that difficulties in developing and implementing school safety policies are due to a lack of training.

Keywords

HLM
mathematics achievement
safety
TIMSS 2019

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 17, Issue 12, December 2021, Article No: em2052

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11416

Publication date: 12 Dec 2021

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Article Downloads: 1517

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Declaration of Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest is declared by author(s).

Data sharing statement: Data supporting the findings and conclusions are available upon request from the corresponding author(s).

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How to cite this article

APA

Graham, M. A., Mokgwathi, M. S., & de Villiers, J. J. R. (2021). Safety Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement in South African Schools. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(12), em2052. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11416

Vancouver

Graham MA, Mokgwathi MS, de Villiers JJR. Safety Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement in South African Schools. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(12):em2052. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11416

AMA

Graham MA, Mokgwathi MS, de Villiers JJR. Safety Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement in South African Schools. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2021;17(12), em2052. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11416

Chicago

Graham, Marien Alet, Mathelela Steyn Mokgwathi, and Johannes Jozua Rian de Villiers. "Safety Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement in South African Schools". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2021 17 no. 12 (2021): em2052. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11416

Harvard

Graham, M. A., Mokgwathi, M. S., and de Villiers, J. J. R. (2021). Safety Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement in South African Schools. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 17(12), em2052. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11416

MLA

Graham, Marien Alet et al. "Safety Factors Associated With Mathematics Achievement in South African Schools". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 17, no. 12, 2021, em2052. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11416