One of the main objectives of international large-scale assessments is to make comparisons between different countries, education policies, education systems, or subgroups. One of the main criteria for making comparisons between different groups is to ensure measurement invariance. The purpose of this study was to test the measurement invariance…

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 paper reports on the findings of a baseline study that fed on to a broader investigation exploring ICT integration in the teaching of functions. The baseline study was premised on the observation that the notion of function, despite being a fundamental and central idea in the mathematics school curriculum, presents pedagogical challenges to…

When embarking on our journey of learning in mathematics, we may envision a linear path of modules for acquiring mathematical knowledge and understanding to reach a predetermined outcome. However, this is a partial representation since the outcome and path are developing and adapting and our learning is continuously emerging. In this paper, our…

Mathematics clubs are becoming increasingly researched in South Africa, yet what might constitute a curriculum for such clubs has not been discussed. We present and analyse a curriculum design for clubs that we set up and worked with over three years. The goals of the clubs were to foster strong mathematical proficiency, identities and agency…

Examples that teachers choose and use are fundamental to what mathematics is taught and learned, and what opportunities for learning are created in mathematics classrooms. This qualitative multiple case study, using Sfard's commognitive theory, draws attention to mathematics teachers' classroom practices during functions lessons which is…

Problem-solving and enquiry-based learning are integral in the Mathematics and Science curriculum in South Africa through online-based assessment. Online assessment has rapidly gained recognition because of technology. In this paper, the authors explored the views of online baseline assessment among Senior Phase First-year Mathematics Student…

This study explored students' mathematics-related beliefs and the relationship between the beliefs and their strategies for solving non-routine mathematical problems. The study was guided by Daskalogianni and Simpson's 2001 belief systems categories and strategies for non-routine mathematical problems. The participants were 625 grade 11 students…

In this article we propose a framework for reporting mathematics results from national assessment surveys (NAS) such that effective use of the resulting reports can enhance teaching and learning. We explored literature on factors that may contribute to non-utilisation of assessment data as a basis for decision-making. In the context of South…

The purpose of the study was to explore rural university access programme students' experience of mathematics anxiety in academic settings. Mathematics anxiety has been found to have an adverse effect on students' confidence, motivation and achievement. The quantitative study was exploratory and descriptive in nature. The participants were 655…

Background: Working structurally with patterns at foundation phase (FP) enhances habits of mind that advance early algebra at this early stage of mathematical learning. The South African curriculum proposes that learners work with and understand the logic of a pattern, but this important idea has largely been neglected in classroom texts and in…

Integration of history of mathematics (HOM) in mathematics education is emerging as frontier endowed with utility to stem decline in uptake, enhance performance and alter the negative perceptions about the subject. This case study sought to explore the influence of history of mathematics on grade eleven girls' perceptions of the Theorem of…

One challenge for an optimal design of the mathematical components in engineering education curricula is to understand how the procedural and conceptual dimensions of mathematical work can be matched with different demands and contexts from the education and practice of engineers. The focus in this paper is on how engineering students respond to…

Textbook content has the ability to influence mathematical learning. This study compares how linear functions are presented in two textbooks, one of South African and the other of German origin. These two textbooks are used in different language-based streams in a school in Gauteng, South Africa. A qualitative content analysis on how the topic of…

Learners in South African schools often respond poorly in questions related to the asymptote. Despite the fact that there are only a few functions in the South African curriculum that actually explore the asymptote, learners still show some deficiency in their understanding of the concept. This research examined Grade 11 learners' mathematical…