Teachers' needs for instructional support at early number sense: analysis in terms of (lens) the concerned based model for teacher development

Abstract

Early number sense requires teachers to have explicit knowledge and understanding to develop learners' skills and knowledge of early number sense. Early grade teachers play a critical role in ensuring learners develop appropriate number sense. The South African National Curriculum Statement allocated 65% of time towards teaching Numbers Operations and Relationship which forms the basis of number sense. Most South African teachers in the early grades are not mathematics specialists and are dependent on support from their school's head of department and the subject curriculum specialist from the district offices. This paper explored teachers experience of the support they received from their head of department in the early grades and the curriculum specialist for the Foundation Phase. This study used the qualitative approach and Fuller's Concerned Based Model for Teacher Development as a theoretical lens to investigate the phenomena. This was a single case study research conducted at one school in the Gauteng Province with three Foundation Phase teachers, one head of department and one subject advisor. Findings revealed teachers understanding and knowledge of number sense and their ambivalent views regarding the support they received. All teachers concluded that the support they received from their department head and subject advisor were partially beneficial to them. They were very concerned with level and depth of the training provided to them. They were unhappy with the once-off short training. Teachers recommended they needed more intensive training on pedagogical content knowledge and content knowledge. Professional development training should be ongoing and that the network learning communities should be established in each district.