Learners have different values that could affect their learning and eventually their performance in mathematics. However, many teachers are unaware of these values. Therefore, this paper reports on a study that established the values learners consider as important in the learning of mathematics. The participants were 274 Grade 9 learners, selected…

Concerns have been expressed that although learners may solve linear equations correctly they cannot draw on mathematically valid resources to explain their solutions or use their strategies in unfamiliar situations. This article provides a detailed qualitative analysis of the thinking of 15 Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners as they talk about their…

This qualitative study explored the level of implementation of the policy of inclusion within selected high schools. The policy of inclusion is one of the key policies enacted by the Department of Education in South Africa since the demise of apartheid. The implementation of the inclusive approach is reported to be facing multiple challenges. In…

Learners' mathematics performance globally and locally has been a major concern. Learners are generally not performing well in mathematics. This is also true of learners in Kwagga West Circuit, Nkangala district in Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Performing badly in the subject negatively affects them, preventing them from progressing to the…

Purpose: This program evaluation aimed to investigate the benefits and challenges of an international, intercultural, e-community-engagement experience involving youth and higher education students. The authors sought to understand the meaning that participants would make of an international, intercultural, e-community-engagement experience.…

Researchers have generally agreed that textbooks as a major conveyor of the curriculum play a dominant role in modern education scenes across different school subjects. The study analyzed a set of four learners' textbooks and their corresponding teachers' guides which are used as set books for teaching mathematics at Grade 9 level in South Africa.…

The South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for Technology stipulates that Technology should provide learners with the opportunity to solve authentic problems that are embedded in real-life experiences. Solving these authentic technological problems requires learners to use critical thinking skills and teachers are expected to…

This paper explores and compares the language learning strategies of high and low performing second language (L2) learners participating in peer tutoring. The participating learners were grouped into high and low performing learners based on their scores in English second language. The classification of strategies by Griffiths into base, core and…

The purpose of this study was to explore geometry spatial mathematical reasoning in Grade nine Annual National Assessments, South Africa. Conceptual Blending was the guiding theory. Document analysis within the exploratory case study was used to explore available data, the 2014 Annual National Assessment learners' scripts (n=1250). Results…

The field of mathematics education has seen an increase in research focused on the concept of identity, with many researchers focusing on the role of teacher pedagogies in shaping learners' identities and their participation in and engagement with mathematics. In this paper, the actual and narrated practices of two teachers, which incorporate…

In the study reported on here I evaluated the alignment between the Annual National Assessment (ANA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Theoretical perspectives were drawn from the Survey Enacted Curriculum (SEC), while quantitative correlational methods were used to determine the alignment between ANA and TIMSS…

The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of academic success of South African students. The study focused on 164 first to fourth year students. The extent to which students' grade 12 performance, the type of high school they attended and their academic self-concepts contributed to their academic success during the entry and…

In this article we examine the nature of inter-semiotic and intermodal construction in the exposition of a solution for a geometry rider. In the tradition of hermeneutic phenomenology, this case study involved an exploration of the oral discourse and visual texts used in a mathematics lesson. This research was intended to contribute to the…

This study investigated the reading demands of restricted-use items administered to South African grade 9 learners as part of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015. The method proposed by Mullis, Martin and Foy (2013) was used to categorise items into low, medium and high readability groups. The 'knowing' domain…

Teacher well-being is an important issue that needs to be considered within a teaching environment. However, little research exists about the relationship between teacher well-being and learner performance. In this study we used data from the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to look at the interplay between…