Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Accounting Teachers in South Africa: Readiness of Grade 9 for Accounting in Grade 10

Abstract

EMS in grade 9 includes accounting related assessment standards upon which the grade 9 is a platform to prepare Grade 9 learners for Grade 10. especially Accounting curriculum builds. The main objective of the study was to determine pedagogical content knowledge and preparedness of Economic and Management Sciences teachers in preparing Grade 9 for Grade 10 in South Africa .Participants were a purposive sample five senior phase schools in Free State Province in Lejweleputswa District of South Africa were chosen to participate in the study (60% = 60, male, age 28-43) who are teaching Economics and Management Science. The qualitative research was used, and EMS teachers completed semi-structured individual interviews on their sense of pedagogical content in teaching Accounting as an integrated subject in South African schools. Thematic analysis indicated that EMS learners master Economics and Business Studies and perform bad in Accounting but proceed to the next level because of the good pass in two subjects. EMS teachers experienced challenges with the terminology and difficult language used in the EMS textbooks. Moreover, the effective teaching and learning strategy is a challenge to most of EMS teachers in schools. The policy, professional development and support for teachers and learners must be given attention to address the challenges faced by EMS teachers and EMS learners, prepare and lay good foundation for Grade 9 learners for Grade 10.

The Relationships between Experience, Qualification and Subject Specialization and Content Knowledge Mastery of Economic and Management Sciences Teachers: A Case of Accounting Teaching

“…Several studies identified factors that can be associated with problems relating to content knowledge mastery of accounting teachers (Melo et al, 2020;Modise, 2016;Peter et al, 2017). These factors are classified as misconceptions, difficulties associated with defining accounting concepts, inability to manipulate accounting equations, and difficulty in applying accounting principles and procedures (Modise & Letlhoenyo, 2020). These studies confirm that misconceptions are generally undesirable and must be identified and addressed (Melo et al, 2020;Peter et al, 2017).…”

“…These studies report that teachers have limited accounting content knowledge because they are generalists rather than specialists (Nixon et al, 2015), and they choose to spend their time and effort teaching other subjects. Secondary school teachers have to complete a specialization in their specialty subject before teaching it (Modise & Letlhoenyo, 2020); the area of study is considered to be the teacher's area of expertise. In the senior phase, teachers are not required to have specialized in a subject, and it is doubtful whether teachers can show the same level of competence in all subjects (Modise, 2016).…”

“…When they teach accounting, teachers need to focus on helping learners visualize accounting concepts and procedures (Qhosola, 2015) by using pictures and diagrams, rather than focusing only on doing calculations correctly (Molise, 2020). Several research studies report a positive relationship between teachers' preparation in the subject matter they later teach, and student achievement (Podolsky et al, 2016, p. 88), while others have less unequivocal results (Modise & Letlhoenyo, 2020). Darling-Hammond et al (2017) argue that there is a correlation between teacher preparation and student achievement, and it can sometimes be negative.…”

“…However, most teachers at rural schools lack relevant qualifications to teach EMS, and they teach EMS because of their teaching experience in subjects such as economics and business studies (Ngwenya, 2020). Thus, EMS teachers struggle to teach FL, because schools do not consider teachers' qualifications and subject specializations when subject allocations are done (Modise & Letlhoenyo, 2020). Studies have investigated the effect of teachers' experience of teaching, and their qualifications, to determine if these characteristics contribute to learner achievement (Nixon et al, 2016;Podolsky et al, 2019;Papay & Kraft, 2015), and have found that the number of years spent teaching a particular subject, and qualifications relating to this subject, do not necessarily translate into academic achievement of learners (Nixon et al, 2016;Samad & Nurusus, 2015).…”

“…Studies found that teachers teach subjects in which they did not major, and that they lack the requisite experience and qualifications to teach those subjects (Modise & Letlhoenyo, 2020). This situation compromizes learner achievement, also in the subject of FL.…”