The teaching and learning of mathematics in South Africa are conducted through the authorised Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT). South Africa has eleven official languages, and English is a Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) from the Intermediate and Further Education and Training (FET) Phase. This study explores teachers' views on…

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…

Background: The South African national school curriculum for the foundation phase (6- to 9-year-olds) does not have a unique subject called 'science', but 'hidden' away in the subject 'life skills', one detects a great deal of science, but not all of it overtly presented. This presents a challenge to teachers who might be limited in their science…

This paper focuses on the ways in which five- to seven-year-old primary school children in a Black/African township in South Africa construct and experience 'free play' in the classroom. Findings highlight the gendered manner in which play is constructed and constantly policed by these young children during 'free play'. By foregrounding the young…

South Africa's education system has been characterized by various curriculum changes since 1997 given that basic education is a priority of this government and policies have specifically been aimed at improving the overall standard of education in the country. Despite these curriculum changes, the findings of tests such as the Progress in…

In this study, we explore the differences between learners who perpetrate cyberbullying and traditional bullying in Gauteng with regard to their sociodemographic characteristics and the level of self-reported, authoritarian parenting they experienced. This study was conducted on Grade Six and Seven learners from four primary schools in Benoni,…

It is commonly accepted that the knowledge and learning of rational numbers is more complex than that of the whole number field. This complexity includes the broader range of application of rational numbers, the increased level of technical complexity in the mathematical structure and symbol systems of this field and the more complex nature of…

To increase individual and communal environmental health awareness through an experiential-education project. A computer-based pre- and postintervention quiz; an educational poster; an interactive board game; and a take-home information leaflet were utilized for a school learners-centered health promotion exhibit at a National Science Festival in…

This article reports on the outcome of utilising a multilingual strategy that promotes translanguaging to support primary grade learners and the enablers and constraints of the implementation of such strategies. Purposive sampling was used to select two schools. Grade 5 and 6 learners (N = 162) and their teachers (N = 3) participated in the study.…

Background: Death and loss are inevitable, and life changes profoundly for those left behind. A General Household Survey by Statistics South Africa indicated that 94.2% of orphans aged 7-18 years were still attending school. With no parental and often familial support, learners often had to turn to their teachers for support. Vukuzakhe, a…

The Department of Basic Education in South Africa has identified factorisation as a problem area in Mathematics teaching. Learners in earlier grades are exposed to mathematical tasks, involving concepts, such as factors of integers, fractions, equivalent fractions and prime numbers, that are easier to solve when the divisibility rules are applied.…

Background: This article presents the Afrikaans translation of an originally German diagnostic test for early number concept development. The process of 'importing' a test to South Africa by considering linguistic-, functional-, cultural and metric equivalence is outlined. A theoretical model describes five levels of young children's hierarchical…

The international Eco-Schools programme promotes Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through introducing and stimulating pro-environmental initiatives by school learners and staff. This enabled learners in the Eco-Clubs at a resource-poor primary school to identify and undertake transformative pro-environmental initiatives in 2011 and 2014…

Background: Learning support in South Africa is a phenomenon where learners who experience barriers to learning are withdrawn from the mainstream class and receive support in their home language and mathematics. A need for learning support surfaced when emphasis was placed on inclusivity in mainstream schools. The efficacy of this withdrawal on…

Fifty-three percent of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in low- and middle-income countries despite an investment of between 33-49% of education expenditure on primary education. Teaching children to read in the early grades is fundamental to building resilient education systems, as the ability to read early in life is a great predictor…