Research on mathematical equivalence, and to some extent, on number structure in early grade mathematics, has shown that most students at primary and secondary levels understand these concepts instrumentally rather than relationally. The study reported in this paper uses a design research approach to explore both mathematical equivalence and…

This paper focuses on the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education's (SAARMSTE's) role as a platform supporting research dissemination and connecting researchers in early grades mathematics (EGM) in the Southern African region. A review of the Long Papers in SAARMSTE over the last 20 years supports…

Teacher quality in primary schools in South Africa is a serious concern, and how best to prepare teachers in initial teacher education--with regard to mathematics--remains an open and vexing question. There is a confluence of challenges facing the mathematics education community in South Africa: poor conceptual understanding of mathematics amongst…

This paper examines the conceptions of 'number sense' as promoted in pre-service primary mathematics education courses at 11 South African Higher Education Institutions through the texts used by academics or prescribed for students. While all the participating institutions agree that the development of primary school learners' 'number sense' is…

The development of statistical literacy has become a key outcome of mathematics curricula in various countries. The purpose of the study was to explore primary pre-service teachers' (PSTs') knowledge of aspects of measures of central tendency, which is a central concept in statistical literacy. The 183 PSTs' written responses to four tasks were…

Reflective practice is a crucial element of professional growth that is gaining in popularity in teacher education, yet the ability to reflect is a skill that is neither natural nor easy to develop. This paper reports on an investigation that sought to establish if pre-service teachers at a South African university -- in the process of learning to…

The purpose of this case study was to determine the functions of pre-service teachers' talk and to explore how the teacher educator supports the development of conceptual understanding in a dialogic classroom setting. The participants in the study were a physics teacher educator who employed dialogic teaching to teach mechanics and 52 third-year…

This study examines the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement in Mathematics among Grade 4 pupils located in 91 urban primary schools and 181 rural primary schools in Kenya. We hypothesise that teacher quality indicators including teacher characteristics, teacher qualification comprising initial teacher education and teacher…

While a consensus within the field exists that pre-service teachers need adequate knowledge and skills to become effective teachers in mathematics, less is known about how they understand the mathematical knowledge needed for teaching in elementary education. This paper explores how Malawian pre-service teachers understand the mathematical…

The Primary Teacher Education (PrimTEd) project was established in response to concerns about the pre-service preparation of primary teachers in South Africa. In order to inform the development of appropriate pre-service mathematics courses, an initial need in the PrimTEd project was to establish the nature of the mathematical knowledge of…

This paper reports on the professional development of four mathematics teachers in South Africa. The four teachers all participated in a Mathematical Thinking course before taking an Advanced Certificate in Education in mathematics. The research, which aimed to understand these teachers' ongoing professional development, took place two years after…

Drama is used to build knowledge and understanding in science as part of a socio-linguistic, constructivist approach. Role-plays, where learners act as analogues for components and processes, help access abstract ideas. However, a problem restricting many science teachers using these approaches has been that they lack sufficient pedagogical…