This article is part of a larger study on teacher development. The main study investigated teacher development within primary school Mathematics teachers' classrooms to determine if teaching practices could be enhanced through a didactisation-based programme. It sought to develop teachers within their own environments and classrooms. Design…

In a context where Foundation Phase literacy teachers' personal literacy often involves operational and technicist practices rather than creative, this paper argues that it is by exposing teachers to experiences of working with different genres of text for an extended time, in different fields, that teachers are able to imagine the possibilities…

Making decisions about English reading instruction is as core a component to teaching as providing the instruction itself. When providing support to learners at risk for poor reading outcomes, for which currently there is a large percentage in South Africa, it is especially important to ensure that the decisions that are made have the highest…

In this article we argue that eliminating the divisions of labour between men and women could work towards counteracting gender inequality within professions. Globally women are over-represented in the teaching of young children in the early years of primary school, or Foundation Phase (FP), as it is known in South Africa. We are concerned to go…

Background: In this paper, I share a case study of a teacher's work on mathematics tasks in the context of a 'mathematics for teaching' course aiming to develop mathematical content understandings and mathematical practices among primary teachers in one South African province. The course was developed in a national context of concerns about the…

An unacceptable number of learners in under-resourced schools in South Africa are failing to perform adequately in national and international benchmark tests. Poor learner performance has been linked to poor-quality teaching, which, in turn, can be attributed in part to a lack of instructional leadership at schools. According to policy, heads of…

In this article, Mason's 'discipline of noticing' is used to theorise a reflective process for changing mathematics teaching in a challenging context. The methodological approach was guided by critical reflective processes that produced, firstly, a descriptive 'account-of' an unsuccessful mathematics lesson, followed by layers of analyses drawing…

Foundation phase teachers in South African schools follow a socio-constructivist approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics, which entails that learners experiment freely with concepts and are encouraged to communicate and share their thoughts and ideas. In an effort to understand the impact that the physical learning environment, such…

The teaching of problem-solving through the development of a problem-solving model was investigated in a Grade 4 mathematics classroom. Learners completed a questionnaire regarding their knowledge of mathematical problem-solving, their attitudes towards problem-solving, as well as their experiences in solving problems. Learners' responses revealed…

This study reports on an intervention that was aimed at improving the content knowledge of first-year intermediate-phase education students at a South African university. The study gives some insight into preservice teachers' perceptions of an online programme for the development of mathematics common content knowledge for teachers of mathematics…

The purpose of this research project was to understand how Cambourne's theory of social constructivism, particularly his four instructional principles, was applied to the teaching of writing in two rural multigrade Foundation Phase classrooms in the Western Cape. Multigrade schools account for 30% of all primary schools in South Africa, but in…

This paper examines the initial steps of an internationally funded project focused on enhancing teachers' conceptual and pedagogical knowledge of literacy development in the Western Cape of South Africa. We asked what are the tensions and breakthroughs when engaged in international teacher professional development? Four lines of inquiry support…

Current research suggests that nurturing teachers' creativity can improve their practice as teachers of writing. A number of Teacher Education interventions have focused on the provision of creativity and creative writing courses for teachers with the view that such experiential learning will enable teachers to become more effective writing…

This paper reports on the perceptions and experiences of primary school teachers of the challenges they faced and the prospects of using data from the Annual National Assessments (ANAs). While the majority stated that information from the ANAs can assist teachers to improve learning, responses on the use of the ANAs in the classroom were mixed,…

There is a dearth of research on primary school Geography in South Africa. With no Annual National Assessments (ANAs) being done in the subject, little is known about the quality of geographical learning and teaching in South African primary schools. This article begins to address this shortcoming. More specifically, it responds to the need for…