The institutional location of research in Mathematics and Science Education in South Africa

Abstract

This paper describes and characterizes the science and mathematics education communities in South Africa by looking at their refereed outputs from 2000–2006. The publications under study are studies focusing on South Africa in local and international journals from 2000–2006. Our interest lies in looking more closely at the authors to understand how the two communities grow and evolve. We also examine similarities and differences between the communities and how these have influenced their trajectories. The communities are characterized by their identities as outlined by Gee and their level of development is measured against criteria devised by Fensham. We found that both communities have begun to grow and thrive in the period under study but remain fragile and subject to disruption by upward mobility and loss of some of their members. Similarities were found, but also notable differences such as coauthoring practices.