Lizeka Gcsamba’s research while affiliated with University of the Witwatersrand and other places

This article reports a review of research in mathematics education in South Africa published in local and international journals in the period 2007–2015. The purpose of the review was to describe the landscape of mathematics education research in the country over the past (almost) decade. Findings indicate that the mathematics education research community has become more established, expanding quantitatively, with the number of articles identified being nearly double, in absolute terms, that in a similar review of research from 2000 to 2006. Trends identified in the earlier review persist, with a dominance of publications in local journals and on small-scale qualitative studies on secondary teaching and learning. There is, importantly, an increase in research on primary mathematics. The review includes critical reflection on these findings, opportunities and threats, new and old, and what these mean for the future of research in this field.

This article reports a review of research in mathematics education in South Africa published in local and international journals in the period 2007–2015. The purpose of the review was to describe the landscape of mathematics education research in the country over the past (almost) decade. Findings indicate that the mathematics education research community has become more established, expanding quantitatively, with the number of articles identified being nearly double, in absolute terms, that in a similar review of research from 2000 to 2006. Trends identified in the earlier review persist, with a dominance of publications in local journals and on small-scale qualitative studies on secondary teaching and learning. There is, importantly, an increase in research on primary mathematics. The review includes critical reflection on these findings, opportunities and threats, new and old, and what these mean for the future of research in this field.