EXPLORING CHALLENGES TO EFFECTIVE MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE CASE OF GULLELE SUB-CITY, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Abstract
This paper explored the issues that influence successful teaching and learning in mathematics in middle schools located in Gullele Sub-City of Addis Ababa with special focus on the language issue, content knowledge, teaching philosophy, and technology integration of the teachers. The quantitative-dominant mixed-methods research design was used. The quantitative data were obtained with a structured questionnaire among 94 mathematics teachers and the qualitative data were obtained with the help of semi-structured interviews with ten teachers and observations in the classroom to complement the results of quantitative research. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze quantitative data, which was done through the help of SPSS, and qualitative data were analyzed thematically.
The results indicated that the language barrier is a major hindrance to acquisition of mathematical concepts to the student especially in government schools. Besides that, lack of content knowledge by the teachers, dependency on the conventional lecture teaching experiences and the insufficient integration of instructional technology were revealed as significant problems to effective teaching of mathematics.
This paper has determined that enhancing mathematics instruction is possible through focusing on professional development that concentrates on language responsive instruction, enhancing of content and pedagogical knowledge of teachers, and providing access to instruction technology. This research can offer meaningful information to the teachers, school administration, and education policymakers who are interested in improving the quality of mathematics education in the middle school level.
Key Words:- Pedagogical Knowledge, Content Knowledge, Technological Knowledge, Middle School Mathematics, and Language Barrier.