Subjects

Structural and social constraints in the teaching of Life Skills for HIV/AIDS prevention in Malawi primary schools

Authors: Grames Chirwa and Devika Naidoo  Malawi is a country plagued by social and health problems, such as drug and substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancies and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These social and health challenges demand that young people be empowered with appropriate information and skills to enable them to effectively deal with these situations. …

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Disentangling the language effect in South African schools: Measuring the impact of ‘language of assessment’ in Grade 3 literacy and numeracy

Author: Nicholas Spaull A great majority of South African students are taught in a language that, for them, is a second or third language. Does this explain the high levels of underperformance in reading and mathematics? This study is based on two tests that were given to 3 402 Grade 3 students from all 11 …

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Mathematical cognition: Understanding how children acquire mathematical knowledge and skills

Author: Kakoma Luneta Mathematics is mostly an abstract subject. In addition, it involves having to learn arithmetic and numerical rules that are often difficult for learners. In order to assist learners, educators need to understand mathematical cognition.  Mathematic cognition can be described as a mental activity that is complex; and is responsible for accomplishments such …

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An investigation of Mathematical Literacy assessment supported by an application of Rasch measurement

Authors: Caroline Long, Sarah Bansilal and Rajan Debba Mathematical Literacy (ML) is a fairly new subject in secondary schools and work needs to be done on ways of assessing students’ competence. Tests need to be very carefully designed and marked if they are to be a reliable instrument and provide useful information to teachers and …

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Early numeracy performance of South African school beginners

Authors: Pirjo Aunio, Riika Mononen, Lara Ragpot and Minna Törmänen What kind of mathematical skills do children have when they enter school? It is important to find out, because those who lack numeracy skills at an early stage are known to lag behind throughout higher education. The main aim of this study was to investigate …

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