Abstract

Mathematics and Science education is very important for any nation to realise meaningful economic development. Most studies looking at this important aspect of education focus on post primary to tertiary education leaving the primary level which is a foundation for those levels making the story incomplete. This study explored the dynamics of primary school teaching of Mathematics and Science with respect to the subject matter content knowledge for Mathematics and Science by the pre-service and in-service primary school teachers in Lesotho. The study assessed the Mathematics and Science subject content of 85 first-year pre-service teachers at the College of Education and 22 in-service as reflected in their scores in the national examinations at three levels: Primary School Leaving Education, Junior Certificate and Cambridge School Certificate. This was followed by a questionnaire to assess their views on subject specialisation as a remedy for poor performance. The results revealed that there are some teachers who have never passed Mathematics and Science at any level of education examined nationally, thus making it difficult and uncomfortable for these teachers to teach these subjects effectively as demonstrated by 14% of the in-service teachers. A large majority (77%) recommended the introduction of subject specialisation to commence at primary school level in order to improve Mathematics and Science performance.

Key words: Mathematics and Science Education, primary school level, learner attainment, subject specialisation, Lesotho.