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Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education - Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" /> <title>Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education - Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education</title> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:400,100,700,900&subset=latin,latin-ext"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/bootstrap/5.2.0/css/bootstrap.min.css" integrity="sha512-XWTTruHZEYJsxV3W/lSXG1n3Q39YIWOstqvmFsdNEEQfHoZ6vm6E9GK2OrF6DSJSpIbRbi+Nn0WDPID9O7xB2Q==" crossorigin="anonymous" referrerpolicy="no-referrer" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/font-awesome/5.15.4/css/all.min.css" integrity="sha512-1ycn6IcaQQ40/MKBW2W4Rhis/DbILU74C1vSrLJxCq57o941Ym01SwNsOMqvEBFlcgUa6xLiPY/NS5R+E6ztJQ==" crossorigin="anonymous" referrerpolicy="no-referrer" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/magnific-popup.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/animate.css"> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/site.min.css?v=AxXn28kCPGq5Os75s3bmKcwvpt0yiLvpDAGDpZcIMO0" /> <meta name="robots" content="all,index,follow" /> <meta name="description" content="With all learning institutions pre-maturely closed on 20 March 2020 and all citizens advised to self-isolate in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19, it was hypothesized that COVID-19 would negatively impact on the performance of students in the 2020 Grade 12 national examinations vis-à-vis mathematics, science and design and technology subjects. An observed steady increase in the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and the low levels of technology use in secondary schools in Zambia due to limited technology resources signifies a very difficult period in a young country which has just rolled out a nation-wide implementation of STEM education, This study collected data from three teachers at a public secondary school in Chipata District of Eastern Province in the Republic of Zambia. The Head of Department for Mathematics, the Head of Natural Sciences Department and one science teacher were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews via mobile phone were used to collect views of what these specialists thought would be the COVID-19 effects on the general performance of students in their subject areas. Results of this study revealed that there is likely to be a drop in the pass percentage of secondary school students in this year’s national examinations if the COVID-19 epidemic is not contained in the shortest possible time considering that the school academic calendar was abruptly disturbed by the early untimely closure of all schools in the country." /> <meta name="citation_abstract" content="With all learning institutions pre-maturely closed on 20 March 2020 and all citizens advised to self-isolate in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19, it was hypothesized that COVID-19 would negatively impact on the performance of students in the 2020 Grade 12 national examinations vis-à-vis mathematics, science and design and technology subjects. An observed steady increase in the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and the low levels of technology use in secondary schools in Zambia due to limited technology resources signifies a very difficult period in a young country which has just rolled out a nation-wide implementation of STEM education, This study collected data from three teachers at a public secondary school in Chipata District of Eastern Province in the Republic of Zambia. The Head of Department for Mathematics, the Head of Natural Sciences Department and one science teacher were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews via mobile phone were used to collect views of what these specialists thought would be the COVID-19 effects on the general performance of students in their subject areas. Results of this study revealed that there is likely to be a drop in the pass percentage of secondary school students in this year’s national examinations if the COVID-19 epidemic is not contained in the shortest possible time considering that the school academic calendar was abruptly disturbed by the early untimely closure of all schools in the country." /> <meta name="citation_title" content="Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education" /> <meta name="citation_doi" content="10.29333/ejmste/7893" /> <meta name="citation_journal_title" content="Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education" /> <meta name="citation_issn" content="1305-8215" /> <meta name="citation_issn" content="1305-8223" /> <meta name="citation_volume" content="16" /> <meta name="citation_issue" content="7" /> <meta name="citation_publisher" content="Modestum" /> <meta name="citation_language" content="english" /> <meta name="citation_journal_abbrev" content="EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed" /> <meta name="citation_author" content="Edgar John Sintema" /> <meta name="citation_author_institution" content="PhD Candidate, School of Doctoral Studies, Universidad de Valladolid, SPAIN" /> <meta name="citation_author_email" content="edgarsintema1@gmail.com" /> <meta name="citation_publication_date" content="2020-04-07" /> <meta name="citation_firstpage" content="em1851" /> <meta name="citation_fulltext_world_readable" content="" /> <meta name="citation_pdf_url" content="https://www.ejmste.com/download/effect-of-covid-19-on-the-performance-of-grade-12-students-implications-for-stem-education-7893.pdf" /> <meta name="citation_keywords" content="COVID-19" /> <meta name="citation_keywords" content="STEM subjects" /> <meta name="citation_keywords" content="mathematics education" /> <meta name="citation_keywords" content="Zambia" /> <meta name="og:type" content="article" /> <meta name="og:title" content="Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 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class="nav-link btn-submit" target="_blank">Submit Manuscript</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="search" class="panel-collapse collapse mb-3" style="height: 0px;"> <div class="input-group"> <input id="searchbox" type="text" class="form-control" placeholder="Search" /> <button id="searchjournalbutton" class="btn btn-outline-secondary search" type="button"> <i class="fa fa-search"></i> </button> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="enter"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-6 d-flex align-items-stretch"> <div class="journal-title d-flex align-items-center"> <h1>Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education</h1> </div> </div> <div class="col-6"> <div class="enterimg"> <img src="/images/170/ejmste-cover.jpg"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="main-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="article-arrows"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-6"> <div class="back-to-issue"> <a href="/volume-16/issue-7"> <i class="fas fa-chevron-left" title="Back to article list"></i> </a> </div> </div> <div class="col-6"> <div class="prev-next-article"> <a href="/article/evolutionary-content-knowledge-religiosity-and-educational-background-of-slovene-preschool-and-7991"> <i class="fas fa-chevron-right" title="Next article"></i> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="article-box"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-lg-8"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-lg-8 article-title"> Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education </div> <div class="col-lg-4 writebuton"> <a href="/download/effect-of-covid-19-on-the-performance-of-grade-12-students-implications-for-stem-education-7893.pdf" class="btn btn-text" target="_blank"> <img src="/Content/images/pdf-file.png"> Full Text (PDF) </a> </div> <div class="author-affiliations col-12"> <div class="authors"><span class="author aff1 aff-corr">Edgar John Sintema <sup>1</sup> <sup>*</sup> <a href="mailto:edgarsintema1@gmail.com"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a></span></div><div class="more-detail"><span id="more-detail">More Detail <i class="fa fa-chevron-down"></i></span></div><div class="affiliations"><span class="info aff aff1"><sup>1</sup> PhD Candidate, School of Doctoral Studies, Universidad de Valladolid, SPAIN</span><span class="info aff aff-corr""><sup>*</sup> Corresponding Author</span></div> </div> <div class="col-12 pt-2"> <div class="article-abstract"> <h3>Abstract</h3> <p> With all learning institutions pre-maturely closed on 20 March 2020 and all citizens advised to self-isolate in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19, it was hypothesized that COVID-19 would negatively impact on the performance of students in the 2020 Grade 12 national examinations vis-à-vis mathematics, science and design and technology subjects. An observed steady increase in the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and the low levels of technology use in secondary schools in Zambia due to limited technology resources signifies a very difficult period in a young country which has just rolled out a nation-wide implementation of STEM education, This study collected data from three teachers at a public secondary school in Chipata District of Eastern Province in the Republic of Zambia. The Head of Department for Mathematics, the Head of Natural Sciences Department and one science teacher were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews via mobile phone were used to collect views of what these specialists thought would be the COVID-19 effects on the general performance of students in their subject areas. Results of this study revealed that there is likely to be a drop in the pass percentage of secondary school students in this year’s national examinations if the COVID-19 epidemic is not contained in the shortest possible time considering that the school academic calendar was abruptly disturbed by the early untimely closure of all schools in the country. </p> </div> </div> <div class="col-12 pb-2"> <div class="keywords"> <h3>Keywords</h3> <ul> <li><a href="/keyword/COVID-19">COVID-19</a></li> <li><a href="/keyword/STEM subjects">STEM subjects</a></li> <li><a href="/keyword/mathematics education">mathematics education</a></li> <li><a href="/keyword/Zambia">Zambia</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="col-12"> <div class="license"> <h3>License</h3> <p> This is an open access article distributed under the <a>Creative Commons Attribution License</a> which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-lg-4"> <div class="article-right"> <p> <span>Article Type:</span> Research Article </p> <p> EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 16, Issue 7, July 2020, Article No: em1851 </p> <p> <a href="https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893">https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893</a> </p> <p> <span>Publication date:</span> 07 Apr 2020 </p> <p> <span>Article Views:</span> 160348 </p> <p> <span>Article Downloads:</span> 218218 </p> <span class="btn-open-access"> <i class="fas fa-unlock"></i> Open Access </span> <a href="javascript:;" class="btn btn-open" data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#referencesModal"> References <i class="far fa-clone"></i> </a> <a href="javascript:;" class="btn btn-open" data-bs-toggle="modal" data-bs-target="#citationsModal"> How to cite this article <i class="far fa-clone"></i> </a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="modal" id="referencesModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="referencesModalLabel" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="modal-dialog modal-dialog-centered modal-lg" role="document"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-header"> <h5 class="modal-title" id="referencesModalLabel">References</h5> <button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></button> </div> <div class="modal-body"> <ul class="references"> <li>Chinazzi, M., Davis, J. T., Ajelli, M., Gioannini, C., Litvinova, M., Merler, S., ... Viboud, C. (2020). The effect of travel restrictions on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. <i>Science</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9757">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba9757</a></li> <li>Chipata Day Secondary School (2020). Performance analysis report for 2019 school certificate examinations. <i>Chipata</i>, Zambia.</li> <li>Creswell, J. W. (2017). <i>Educational Research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research</i>. 4th edition.</li> <li>Hopman, J., Allegranzi, B., & Mehtar, S. (2020). Managing COVID-19 in Low and Middle income Countries. <i>JAMA</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4169">https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4169</a></li> <li>Kraemer, M. U., Yang, C. H., Gutierrez, B., Wu, C. H., Klein, B., Pigott, D. M., ... Brownstein, J. S. (2020). The effect of human mobility and control measures on the COVID-19 epidemic in China. <i>Science</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb4218">https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb4218</a></li> <li>Sintema, E. J., & Phiri, P. A. (2018). An investigation of zambian mathematics student teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). <i>Journal of Basic and Applied Research International, 24</i>(2), 70-77.</li> <li>Wang, C., Cheng, Z., Yue, X. G., & McAleer, M. (2020). <i>Risk Management of COVID-19 by Universities in China</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13020036">https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm13020036</a></li> <li>Wickramasinghe, N. C., Steele, E. J., Gorczynski, R. M., Temple, R., Tokoro, G., Wallis, D. H., & Klyce, B. (2020). Growing Evidence against Global Infection-Driven by Person-to-Person Transfer of COVID-19. <i>VirolCurr Res, 4</i>(1).</li> <li>Wu, Z., & McGoogan, J. M. (2020). Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. <i>JAMA</i>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.2648">https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.2648</a></li> <li>Zu, Z. Y., Jiang, M. D., Xu, P. P., Chen, W., Ni, Q. Q., Lu, G. M., & Zhang, L. J. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A perspective from China. <i>Radiology</i>, 200490. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2020200490">https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2020200490</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="modal-footer"> <button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-dismiss="modal">Close</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="modal" id="citationsModal" tabindex="-1" role="dialog" aria-labelledby="citationsModalLabel" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="modal-dialog modal-dialog-centered modal-lg" role="document"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="modal-header"> <h5 class="modal-title" id="citationsModalLabel">How to cite this article</h5> <button type="button" class="btn-close" data-bs-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"></button> </div> <div class="modal-body"> <h3>APA</h3> <p>Sintema, E. J. (2020). Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education. <i>Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16</i>(7), em1851. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893">https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893</a></p> <h3>Vancouver</h3> <p>Sintema EJ. Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(7):em1851. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893">https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893</a></p> <h3>AMA</h3> <p>Sintema EJ. Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education. <i>EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed</i>. 2020;16(7), em1851. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893">https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893</a></p> <h3>Chicago</h3> <p>Sintema, Edgar John. "Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education". <i>Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education</i> 2020 16 no. 7 (2020): em1851. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893">https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893</a></p> <h3>Harvard</h3> <p>Sintema, E. J. (2020). Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education. <i>Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education</i>, 16(7), em1851. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893">https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893</a></p> <h3>MLA</h3> <p>Sintema, Edgar John "Effect of COVID-19 on the Performance of Grade 12 Students: Implications for STEM Education". <i>Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education</i>, vol. 16, no. 7, 2020, em1851. <a href="https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893">https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/7893</a></p> </div> <div class="modal-footer"> <button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-dismiss="modal">Close</button> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <footer id="footer"> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-12 col-sm-3 column d-flex justify-content-center"> <img src="/Content/images/modestum-logo-2.png" alt="" style="height: 70px;"> </div> <div class="col-12 col-sm-3 column d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-sm-start"> <div class="text-center text-sm-start"> <h3 class="mb-2">Publisher</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.modestum.co.uk/" target="_blank">Home</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.modestum.co.uk/journals" target="_blank">Journals</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.modestum.co.uk/home/contact" target="_blank">Contact</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.modestum.co.uk/newsletter" target="_blank">Subscribe to newsletter</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="col-12 col-sm-3 column d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-sm-start"> <div class="text-center text-sm-start"> <h3 class="mb-2">Journal</h3> <ul> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/archive">Archive</a></li> <li><a href="/home/about-us">About us</a></li> <li><a href="/home/submission-guidelines">Submission Guidelines</a></li> <li><a href="/home/contact">Contact</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="col-12 col-sm-3 column d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-sm-start"> <div class="text-center text-sm-start"> <h3 class="mb-2">Terms</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.modestum.co.uk/home/terms-of-use" target="_blank">Terms of Use</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.modestum.co.uk/home/privacy-policy" target="_blank">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.modestum.co.uk/home/cookie-policy" target="_blank">Cookie Policy</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <div class="bottom"> <div class="container my-2"> ISSN: 1305-8215 | e-ISSN: 1305-8223 | Publisher: Modestum </div> </div> <div class="policy-banner"> <div class="container"> <div class="policy-text"> We value your privacy. 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