Grade 7 teachers' and prospective teachers' content knowledge of geometry

The geometry content knowledge of Grade 7 teachers (n =18) and prospective teachers (n =100) was investigated, using the Van Hiele theory and acquisition scales of Gutiérrez, Jaime and Fortuny. Results indicated that both teacher and prospective teacher populations failed to reach the level of geometric thinking and degree of acquisition expected from successful teachers. The impact of teaching experience and different pre-service time frames (3 years vs 4 years) on the level of geometrical thought was also investigated. The conclusion was that teachers and prospective teachers do not have adequate control of the Grade 7 geometry subject-matter they have to teach. This holds implications both for pre-service and in-service teacher education as well as classroom practice. South African Journal of Education Vol.23(3) 2003: 199-20

Technological pedagogical content knowledge in South African mathematics classrooms: A secondary analysis of SITES 2006 data

This article reports on a secondary data analysis conducted on the South African mathematics teachers’ dataset of the Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES 2006). The sample consisted of a stratified sample of 640 mathematics teachers from 504 randomly selected computer-using and non–computer-using schools that completed the SITES 2006 teachers’ questionnaire, which investigated their pedagogical use of Information Communication Technology (ICT). The purpose of the current investigation was to investigate the level of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) of mathematics teachers, and how TPACK attributes contribute towards more effective Grade 8 mathematics teaching in South African schools, using the TPACK conceptual framework. The findings are presented according to the three clusters identified through the association between the main variables of the TPACK model and other variables on the SITES 2006 teachers’ questionnaire: (1) impact of ICT use, (2) teacher practices and (3) barriers. A Cramér V of between 0.3 and 0.4 was considered to signal a medium effect that tended towards practically significant association, and a Cramér V of 0.4 or larger was considered to signal a large effect with practically significant association. The results indicate that the TPACK of mathematics teachers contributes towards more effective Grade 8 mathematics teaching in South African schools

Quality education

This book investigates the intersections between education, social justice, gendered violence and human rights in South African schools and universities. The rich and multifarious tapestry of scholarship and literature emanating from South African classrooms provides a fascinating lens through which we can understand the complex consequences of the economies of education, social justice imperatives, gendered violence on the lives of women and children, and marginalised communities. The scholarship in the book challenges readers to imagine alternative futures predicated on the transformational capacity of a democratic South Africa. Contributors to this volume examine the many ways in which social justice and gendered violence mirrors, expresses, projects and articulates the larger phenomenon of human rights violations in Africa and how, in turn, the discourse of human rights informs the ways in which we articulate, interrogate, conceptualise, enact and interpret quality education. The book also wrestles with the linguistic contradictions and ambiguities in the articulation of quality education in public and private spaces. This book is essential reading for scholars seeking solid grounding in exploring quality education, the instances of epistemic disobedience, the political implications of place and power, and human rights in theory and practice

Quality education

This book investigates the intersections between education, social justice, gendered violence and human rights in South African schools and universities. The rich and multifarious tapestry of scholarship and literature emanating from South African classrooms provides a fascinating lens through which we can understand the complex consequences of the economies of education, social justice imperatives, gendered violence on the lives of women and children, and marginalised communities. The scholarship in the book challenges readers to imagine alternative futures predicated on the transformational capacity of a democratic South Africa. Contributors to this volume examine the many ways in which social justice and gendered violence mirrors, expresses, projects and articulates the larger phenomenon of human rights violations in Africa and how, in turn, the discourse of human rights informs the ways in which we articulate, interrogate, conceptualise, enact and interpret quality education. The book also wrestles with the linguistic contradictions and ambiguities in the articulation of quality education in public and private spaces. This book is essential reading for scholars seeking solid grounding in exploring quality education, the instances of epistemic disobedience, the political implications of place and power, and human rights in theory and practice