Exploring Mathematics Teaching Approaches in Tanzanian Higher Education Institutions: Lecturers’ Perspectives

The success of the teaching - learning process in terms of learning outcomes is determined by several factors, primarily the lecturer’s teaching approach used. Despite the importance of the teaching approach, little is known concerning the teaching approaches used by mathematics lecturers in Tanzanian higher education institutions. This study explores the lecturers’ perspectives regarding the teaching approaches they normally use in teaching mathematics, and what motivates their choices, within an emerging economy context. Data are collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 lecturers. Data are analysed using content analysis and descriptive statistics. The findings reveal that lecturers are more likely to choose teacher-centred approaches and that assurance of the right content, content coverage and time-saving aspects are associated with choosing this approach. These findings provide insights into the current state in mathematics classroom regarding teaching approaches, and the motivation behind lecturers’ teaching approach choices, complementing current findings in the literature. We categorise the teaching approaches for mathematics teaching – learning by describing the interactions between the different actors in the classroom (teachers, students, and content) in order to inform and influence successful mathematics teaching practices in emerging economies such as Tanzania. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.