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<p>The role of external supervisors in mentoring teaching practice students is vital to teacher education, making the selection of experienced subject specialists a critical consideration. This study investigated the mathematics teaching experience of external supervisors overseeing preservice mathematics teachers in Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) environments. Using a quantitative descriptive survey design, data were collected from 46 external supervisors across six South African provinces (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga. Findings revealed that while 80.4% of supervisors possessed over 21 years of general teaching experience, only 30.4% had prior mathematics teaching experience. Analysis demonstrated a strong positive correlation (<i>r</i> = 0.82, <i>p</i>&lt;0.001) between mathematics teaching experience and supervisory effectiveness, compared to a moderate correlation (<i>r</i> = 0.41, <i>p</i>=0.021) for supervisors without subject-specific experience. These differentiated correlations suggest that while subject-specific knowledge is associated with higher supervision quality, experienced educators without mathematics backgrounds still provide valuable guidance through transferable pedagogical expertise. The study recommends implementing subject-specific professional development programs for supervisors lacking mathematics experience, developing collaborative supervision models pairing supervisors with complementary expertise, creating specialized resources connecting general pedagogical principles to mathematics applications, and exploring technology-enhanced supervision approaches. These recommendations address the complex realities of ODeL environments while identifying strategic opportunities to enhance mathematics teaching practice supervision quality in teacher education.</p>

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Mathematics teaching experience and supervisory effectiveness in South African ODeL teacher education

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月30日

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  • Terungwa James Age,
  • Puleng Edwin Rankweteke

摘要

The role of external supervisors in mentoring teaching practice students is vital to teacher education, making the selection of experienced subject specialists a critical consideration. This study investigated the mathematics teaching experience of external supervisors overseeing preservice mathematics teachers in Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) environments. Using a quantitative descriptive survey design, data were collected from 46 external supervisors across six South African provinces (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga. Findings revealed that while 80.4% of supervisors possessed over 21 years of general teaching experience, only 30.4% had prior mathematics teaching experience. Analysis demonstrated a strong positive correlation (r = 0.82, p<0.001) between mathematics teaching experience and supervisory effectiveness, compared to a moderate correlation (r = 0.41, p=0.021) for supervisors without subject-specific experience. These differentiated correlations suggest that while subject-specific knowledge is associated with higher supervision quality, experienced educators without mathematics backgrounds still provide valuable guidance through transferable pedagogical expertise. The study recommends implementing subject-specific professional development programs for supervisors lacking mathematics experience, developing collaborative supervision models pairing supervisors with complementary expertise, creating specialized resources connecting general pedagogical principles to mathematics applications, and exploring technology-enhanced supervision approaches. These recommendations address the complex realities of ODeL environments while identifying strategic opportunities to enhance mathematics teaching practice supervision quality in teacher education.