Background: A large number of studies have established that reading for comprehension in South African schools is comparably poor relative to other Southern African states. Some of these studies confirm that learners' competency in reading in English is lacking when contextualised in a learning environment. Various systemic evaluations were…

The call for improving students' academic achievement in science education has increased in urgency in recent years. It has also increased in complexity in the face of the growing cultural and linguistic diversity of present-day classrooms following inter- and intra-state migration. Although "translanguaging" pedagogy, where languages of…

The author examines guided play among students in a South African classroom using a play-and-write workshop constructed by her and her students. She determines that the workshop displays the characteristics of playful learning, lies on the playful learning spectrum, and fits the criteria for guided play. She concludes that, given the benefits of…

Ticks and crosses (TCs) are a common aspect of teachers' classroom practice in relation to assessment in many learning areas including mathematics. Putting TCs in learners' written work is a strategy of feedback. Even though these TCs are frequently used in different types of mathematics assessments, there is limited research in relation to what…

This article sets out a professional development programme for primary school mathematics teachers. Clark and Hollingsworth's model of teacher change provided the theoretical framework necessary to understand teacher change. A design study allowed for increased programme flexibility and participator involvement. Five volunteer primary school…

Background: Many teachers for different reasons recognise the teaching of fraction as a challenge. This research explored the teaching of fraction in Grade 5 by three experienced teachers (Ben, Greg and Will) in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of different approaches to the…

Background: South African primary school learners have participated in several national and international literacy (reading and writing) studies that measure learners' achievement in different grades and at different intervals. Numerous scholars have analysed the results of these assessments. We extended their analyses by investigating the grade…

In this research, a new test for understanding simple fractions has been developed for students at the beginning of lower secondary education. In many countries, mathematics education in Grade 5 builds on elementary students' developing concepts of fractions. Understanding fractions causes many difficulties for students, and research on mental…

There is an urgent need to establish classroom libraries, especially in rural areas where learners hardly come across any reading material. The purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers set up classroom libraries in rural areas of the Mogodumo circuit in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The study was qualitative in nature. Fifteen…

Background: Within the ambit of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the use of technology-based tools within teaching and learning is advancing rapidly at education institutions globally, including the teaching and learning of mathematics. Learners and teachers have challenges with teaching and learning fractions in mathematics. A learner's…

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present severe challenges to the education sector more than 2 years after the first case was detected. We explore the strategies South African teachers used to support continued mathematics learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic across different stages of the response to it and across different contexts.…

This article looks at the development of mathematisation in a primary school mathematics teacher's classroom. The teacher was a volunteer in a professional development programme that promoted didactisation principles for mathematics teacher development. At the heart of didactisation lies the principle of mathematisation. Mathematisation as a…

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown education in turmoil, globally, resulting in many challenges for quality education and associated activities, such as sports, to continue. This study's foci are on what detrimental effects of discontinued athletics have on the learner athletes; how information communication technology (ICT) utilisation can mitigate…

This study focuses on the relationship between students' early academic skills and academic achievement. In this context, it is aimed to examine the predictors of students' early literacy and numeracy skills on their later math and science achievements across countries. A quantitative research approach using a correlational survey design was…

Background: Mathematics education is a significant issue in the South African context. Learners' achievement levels are markedly low as suggested by both national and international studies. The teaching and learning of fractions in particular have been identified as challenging. Aim: The aim of this article is to share some of the outcomes derived…