Jacobs, LynetteVan Breda, CobusBeje, Sibongile2022-01-272022-01-272021-05http://hdl.handle.net/11660/11372The persistent poor performance in Mathematics in the province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, despite various interventions to alleviate its adverse effects, stimulated my interest in this study. I was particularly interested in understanding the effect of involving families in primary Mathematics education as an intervention rolled out by the University of the Free State in selected schools in the OR Tambo Education District. While literature revealed that such interventions are not always successful, the S4F FM (Science for the Future Family Math) programme rolled out by the University of the Free State had never been independently evaluated for its effect on the school communities’ perceptions and learners’ achievement marks in Mathematics. Thus, the dearth of knowledge of the efficacy of the S4F FM programme, despite the human, time and financial investments, was the gap I identified. The overall aim of this study was to explore and describe the changes brought about through an S4F FM programme in a rural school community in South Africa. While I conducted the enquiry predominantly using qualitative methodologies, I also employed quasi-experimental research design strategies to triangulate and enhance confidence in the findings and conclusions of the study. I used the assumptions of the pragmatism paradigm, namely that one should use a range of techniques to develop a clearer understanding of complex social issues, in order to guide the elements of this research enquiry. The first of these elements was to find a theoretical framework, which dealt with the perceptions of family involvement into children’s education, and the alignment of school, home and community for optimal learning. The Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997) and Epstein and Sanders (2006) models, as well as Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory and constructivism, served the purpose of framing the enquiry. In sum, the conceptual framework for this study recognises the centrality of the school both socially and academically speaking. It seeks harness this positioning for facilitating family involvement and learners’ cognitive development, leading to the outcomes of attitudes, perceptions, and performance. In the literature review, I demonstrated that the social context of the study area is characterised by teenage pregnancy, economic imperatives of temporary migration, HIV and AIDS-accelerated orphanhood. These all motivate for the adoption of the concept of family involvement rather than parental involvement. The background to the origins of the Family Math reveals that it was started as response to the observed lack of participation and achievement in Mathematics by minority groups, including women, in the USA. The literature study also highlighted the importance of school-to-home communication for optimal Mathematics education. Proper communication between the two spheres, school and home, facilitates family support and promotes positive perceptions about Mathematics. Improved children’s and family members’ perceptions are associated with higher achievement marks in the subject. Beliefs about what a family member should do to support a child’s education (role construction), family members’ perceptions about their abilities (self-efficacy), and perceptions of invitations from the school, are some of the psychological factors influencing family members’ decision to become involved in a child’s education. These factors are, in turn, affected by multiple factors such as socioeconomic situations, traditions and cultural background. In line with the pragmatist view, I took a mixed methods approach to conduct this research. I specifically I used the sequential mixed methods, beginning with qualitative, followed by quantitative and ending with qualitative methods again. In the first qualitative part of the research, I interviewed three S4F FM programme staff members to understand the background to the programme. The Mathematics marks from 16 primary schools that participated in the S4F FM programme in the OR Tambo District of the Eastern Cape constituted the data for the quantitative aspect of the study. In the second qualitative part of the study, I conducted focus group interviews with 24 family members, 13 teachers and 36 learners, from three different schools. The results of the exploration of the background to the S4F FM programme revealed that the programme, since its introduction more than 20 years ago, has been adopted, implemented and adapted. It continues to evolve and expand, while adhering to the basic tenets upon which the parent programme was founded. These tenets include improvement of participation and performance in Mathematics for the marginalised groups. Regarding learners’ performance in Mathematics, the study found that participation in the S4F FM programme significantly improved learner achievement marks in Mathematics. The study further revealed that the intervention has a cascading effect, as the improved performance is experienced in grades beyond the grades of intervention. Lastly, the analysis of marks also revealed that other community-based variables affect performance in Mathematics. Regarding the perceptions of the school community towards Mathematics education, the study revealed that the activities of the S4F FM intervention programme helped the rural Eastern Cape school community to favourably perceive Mathematics education. When viewed together with outcomes of the analysis of achievement marks in Mathematics, the results suggest that improving the school communities’ perception ultimately leads to improved learner achievement in the subject. In conclusion, the integration of analyses from the study revealed that the communities’ socioeconomic situation, levels of community educational attainment and the language transition from the foundation to intermediate phases of primary education have the greatest effect on learners’ Mathematics achievement marks. The recommendation that flowed from this study was that role players, including the State and Commerce, need to deliberately promote and support programmes that foster family involvement in children’s education. The different spheres of government and different departments need to integrate school development.enThesis (Ph.D. (Curriculum Studies))--University of the Free State, 2021Family MathMathematics primary educationSchool community perceptionsPropensity score matchingThesisUniversity of the Free State