Is Content or Interest and Enthusiasm of Mathematics Teachers more important?

Abstract

Abstract.Due to the different type of student being taught today both in the classrooms of secondary schools and at tertiary institutions, it has been proposed that teaching pedagogies for the teaching of mathematics and statistics should also be adjusted to more effectively teach the new age student. Students of today, compared to students from two decades ago, for example, are much more technology savvy, are more likely to own mobile phones and more likely to engage with social media. It seems reasonable then that teaching strategies adapt to the changing student. Secondary data of secondary students are presented to assess the performance of students in mathematics for different aspects of teaching; in particular, to compare whether the interest of teachers appears more important when compared to aspects of teaching that focus only on the delivery of relevant content.