Thirty-six countries participated in TIMSS 2015 at the Grade 8 level and three countries at the Grade 9 level (Norway, Botswana and South Africa). We will describe the achievement scores using three measures, namely (i) average mathematics and science scale scores in TIMSS 2015 for participating countries; (ii) change in mathematics and scien ...

South Africa is one of the lower performing countries in mathematics in comparison to other participating countries. There are improvements that need to be made and valuable lessons to be learned. Building on what we have learnt from the Grade 9 TIMSS with respect to improvements over time, this first round of TIMSS at the Grade 5 level is an ...

The 2015 TIMSS Grade 9 study was administered in August 2015 by a team of researchers at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

The role of teachers in nurturing students’ sense of belonging cannot be over-emphasised. Students who do not feel accepted by their teachers are at risk of withdrawing from school life and feeling disaffected. This study contributes to theories on school belonging by investigating the contribution of teachers to students’ sense of school belon ...

Background: The acquired skill set prior to school entry has emerged as an important issue in research and policy internationally. Much evidence exists advocating the importance of early numeracy and literacy skills in later academic achievement and economic outcomes of students. Aim: The goal of this study was to determine the association betwe ...

South Africa has participated in a number of local and international achievement studies in the field of education over the last 20 years and responses to the results have been somewhat mixed. Critics argue that participation in international assessments is a pointless exercise because of the slow pace of improvement in South African education. Sup ...