Mathematics and science teacher education in South Africa: A review of research, policy and practice in times of change

Abstract

The social, political and educational policy changes in South Africa provide a backdrop to this paper. Its authors report recent (2000–2006) research into the education of science and mathematics teachers in this country. International research trends provide a frame for the survey. Findings suggest that most of the research in both science and mathematics teacher education consists of small scale qualitative studies, generally conducted in urban contexts and among teachers participating in formal in-service programmes. In science teacher education, research emphases appear to have shifted towards process skill development, nature of science (NOS) and indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) while still acknowledging the importance of content knowledge. In mathematics teacher education research, there is a strong emphasis on the specificity of mathematical knowledge for mathematics teaching and teacher learning, with curriculum reform recently in focus in both mathematics and science teacher education literature. Gaps in the research have also been identified, including the education of primary mathematics and science teachers, teacher education for life sciences and the education of teachers in and for rural contexts. The authors argue for further research into mathematics and science teacher education and conclude with a research agenda focused on an examination of teacher education practices, investigations into primary teacher education, studies into life sciences teacher education and empirical research across diverse schooling contexts, with particular attention being paid to rural education.