Evaluating effective differentiated instruction in multicultural South African secondary schools

Abstract

Various contextual factors contribute to teachers' failure to employ effective differentiated instruction in classroom practices. This is evident in the high drop-out rate of South African students. These students mostly attend schools in lower income and rural areas that are poorly resourced and where teachers are not always trained to support students and apply differentiated instruction in the classroom. The study aimed to establish from students' observations and teachers' perceptions to what extent differentiated instruction is employed in classrooms. Data was collected in public secondary schools (n = 25) of the Gauteng Province in South Africa, using a quantitative approach. The social context of these schools still embodies poverty, lack of educational opportunities and resources, and overcrowded classrooms (ratio 1:40). Two questionnaires were completed, one by secondary school students (n = 4510) and another by teachers (n = 424). Contradictions were detected when students' observations of their teachers' differentiated classroom practices were compared with their teachers' perceptions. Findings showed that teachers did not always establish if students understood the content and did not always know what their difficulties were. The possible reasons could be inadequate training of teachers to identify students' learning barriers and to create and implement differentiated activities; teachers experiencing a lack of time to complete the curriculum; a lack of resources; teaching large classes; and an inability to manage and maintain discipline in classes.