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All chapters in the book are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This chapter provides a description of the historical and political development of the current mass education system in East Africa. It goes on to provide a comparative analysis of the structure of the school education system in the East African countries, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Finally, on the basis of the historical and comparative analysis of the education system the chapter raises questions for harmonization of the education system in the partner states in the East African Community.

This chapter presents the results and insights gained from a comparative analysis of the national secondary school mathematics syllabuses of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Whilst considerable commonalities were found, it was particularly Rwanda, with a different colonial past, which was found to have a more formal curriculum, exemplified in the lack of mention of measurement below the fourth year of primary school and the absence of approximation as a topic. Differences in sequencing topics were found, e.g. Uganda and Rwanda introduce number sequences in year 4 as a means of contextualizing algebra, Tanzania and Kenya introduce them in year 10 somewhat more formally. The continuance of calculations in shillings and cents in Tanzania and Kenya, and the use of logarithms as a calculation tool in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya can be taken as evidence of a mismatch between what happens in school and the outside world. Differences are acknowledged between the stated curriculum on the one hand, and what gets taught by teachers and indeed learnt by children on the other. Whilst considerable work has been undertaken already to update the curricula in different ways, further work is required to ensure that the syllabus across the region is fit for purpose for the 21st century, not least in engaging all learners in this important subject.

Against a perception that results in mathematics are low, this chapter examines available data on achievement across the region, including two datasets based on surveys in the primary sector—Uwezo and SACMEQ—and O levels and equivalent. Common themes which emerged were wide variations across countries and within countries, with youngsters from urban areas performing more highly than rural. Whilst most surveys showed girls performing less well than girls, this was not uniformly the case. Unclear trends need to be put into the context of increased enrollment in the secondary sector. Where examiners’ reports were available, common issues which arose were lack of use of the methods required and engaging with multi-step problems expressed in words, consistent with problems in using English as a medium. No indication in the reports reviewed was given of problems with the questions themselves, despite a number of mistakes being uncovered. In working towards harmonization, a review is needed as to how assessment systems can most effectively support high quality learning in the region.

This chapter looks at issues of teaching and learning mathematics in under resourced classrooms in low-income, post-colonial East African countries. It provides insights into issues arising from externally driven pedagogic reforms introduced to promote learners’ active participation in mathematics classrooms without critical engagement with the wider socio-cultural norms within which the reform was introduced. The chapter further raises issues arising due to the language of instruction policies that mandated learning mathematics in English (language of the ex-colonisers), so that learners resorted to ‘safe talk’ and did not necessarily engage with mathematics. Finally, the chapter highlights issues for participation of boys and girls in mathematics due to traditional and stereotypical understanding of gender roles in society. The chapter ends with recommendations for policy and practice to improve teaching and learning in traditional mathematics classrooms in low-income countries.

This chapter firstly briefly considers the history of teacher training worldwide. It then goes on to specifically look into the status of mathematics teacher training in East Africa by reviewing the pathways to becoming a mathematics teacher; the entry criteria and guidelines; the structure and curriculum in mathematics teacher preparation; the profile of tutors who prepare the mathematics teachers; and finally, the professional development programmes for both mathematics teachers and tutors. The chapter concludes by highlighting some differences in a number of aspects regarding the mathematics teacher training and urges educational stakeholders to speedily embark on harmonizing examination grading systems and the structure and curriculum of mathematics teacher education. It further calls on alignment of teachers’ and tutors’ professional development. Harmonization of various elements of mathematics teacher training is seen as a way of ensuring that all East Africans have equitable opportunities on the labour market under the East African common market protocol.

In order to prepare young people for participation in the technological and knowledge driven society, policy makers in the East African countries are emphasizing the use of ICT to transform the economy from subsistence agriculture to a knowledge-based economy. With this perspective, teacher training in ICTs should not just be about using new technologies but also about why and when to use them in transforming teaching and learning practices. For example, objectives of the Rwandan ICT in Education Policy Statement include developing teachers’ capacity and capability in and through ICT at all school levels. It is against this objective, the present chapter aims at analyzing what level of use of ICT is currently supporting the teaching and learning of mathematics in basic education in Eastern Africa region with illustrating examples from Rwanda. Whilst ICT helps teachers for demonstrations and presentations of their material, group work enhances the learning collaboration; thus breaking away from the practice of talk and chalk that is mostly teacher-centred to a more learner-centred teaching approach. The case study of Rwanda raises important questions for harmonization of mathematics education in the East Africa region.