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The Use of Animal Metaphors to Reveal Beliefs of Grade Three Namibian Learners Who Experienced Mathematics Learning Difficulties During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Mathematics Education in Africa

Abstract

This chapter examines the use of animal metaphors to explore the beliefs of six grade three learners in a rural Namibian school. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The learners had been observed by their teacher and had been found to be experiencing difficulties in learning mathematics. The teacher, therefore, labelled the learners as experiencing mathematics learning difficulties (MLD) and believed they were not mathematically talented. The grade three learners had missed out on some essential basic mathematical competencies in the previous grades due to a lockdown during the pandemic, unplanned school closures, and the implementation of a rationalised syllabus/COVID-19 emergency curriculum. Using animal metaphors, a qualitative research method was used to collect data through semi-structured interviews and learners’ drawings. Findings revealed that learners associated mathematics with dangerous animals or situations, and they believed mathematics to be a difficult subject to learn. The learners’ beliefs indicated that they struggle to learn mathematics; however, all the learners considered knowledge of the subject an essential part of life.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland

    Cloneria Nyambali Jatileni

  2. University of Turku, Turku, Finland

    Shemunyenge Taleiko Hamukwaya

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  1. Cloneria Nyambali Jatileni
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Correspondence to Cloneria Nyambali Jatileni .

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  1. Faculty of Education, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

    Brantina Chirinda

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Kakoma Luneta

  3. University of Rwanda, College of Education (URCE), Kayonza, Rwanda

    Alphonse Uworwabayeho

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Jatileni, C.N., Hamukwaya, S.T. (2022). The Use of Animal Metaphors to Reveal Beliefs of Grade Three Namibian Learners Who Experienced Mathematics Learning Difficulties During the COVID-19 Pandemic. In: Chirinda, B., Luneta, K., Uworwabayeho, A. (eds) Mathematics Education in Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13927-7_15

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