The 2015 TIMSS Grade 5 study was administered for the first time in South Africa in August 2015. The study was led 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). Providing the first, nationally representative, internationally comparative compendium of data on Grade 5 learners in South Africa, the report is a new indicator of the health of our educational system. The analyses describe in detail the current picture of achievement for learners in the country, highlighting key individual, family, school and provincial differences. The results also include key developments concerning preschool attendance, early learning environments, as well as the importance of educational expectations and academic beliefs, and the damaging effects of bullying. The findings highlight the importance of early achievement and the need to understand the multiple layers of influence on educational pathways, with the conclusions and recommendations highlighting an unequal, yet treatable system. The Grade 5 study sits alongside the Grade 9 study which has been carried out in South Africa since 1995, recently completing its fifth round.

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. Supporters point out that international assessment results can be useful at many different levels of policy and planning, especially when studies are repeated across time. The purpose of this book is to provide a measured assessment of what has been achieved in South African education over the last 20 years based on the evidence provided by Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMMS), to redefine what 'good' progress means in light of South Africa's developmental pathway and to recommend what evidence based interventions can be considered as the next realistic steps in South Africa's educational development.

Despite a strong emphasis on teacher education and development in post-apartheid South Africa, statistics show a low retention of beginner teachers in the teaching profession. This trend has serious implications for learner outcomes, given the contribution teachers can and should make to learner achievement. Beginner teachers in South Africa is the first wide-scale study of teachers in the first three years of their careers and offers substantive evidence suggesting the need for interventions to support them. Based on research undertaken in five South African provinces selected because of their relatively high absorption of beginner teachers, it examines the perceptions of novice teachers about their own skills and competencies and conversely, the perceptions of school managers about their performance. Employing both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, the study highlights the critical and supportive role the Department of Education needs to play, the importance of a multi-sectoral approach in improving conditions in schools, and the need for continued investigation into effective teaching. This support for beginner teachers is essential both in order to retain teachers and to develop good teaching practice that will result in successful learners. This report provides important reading for educationists, academics and policymakers as well as readers with an interest in the South African education system. This monograph is part of the Teacher Education in South Africa series. The series documents a wide-ranging set of research projects on teacher education conducted by the Education, Science and Skills Development research programme within the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), as part of a consortium of research partners. Moreover, the series provides a comprehensive investigation of the dynamics shaping the professional development of educators in South Africa today.

The quality of any national education system depends on its teachers. In recent years in South Africa, teacher supply has become a matter of national concern. This monograph examines changes in enrolment and graduation patterns of education students at higher education institutions which are pivotal suppliers of especially the initial professional education of teachers, but also the continuing professional development of practising teachers. The study is based on an uninterrupted time series of institutional data from 1995-2004, which supports a uniquely fine-grained analysis of long-term teacher graduate demographic trends that impact on the present. Major emerging trends are the diminishing participation of young African women enrolled for initial professional education of teachers in the post-millennium period, and the fact that access to teacher education study is in predominantly urban universities. The study serves as a foundation from which to launch further research on questions of teacher supply and teacher quality, such as the degree to which a bursary scheme, recently launched by the National Department of Education, will reinvigorate interest and participation in initial teacher education. This monograph is part of the Teacher Education in South Africa series. The series documents a wide-ranging set of research projects on teacher education conducted by the Education, Science and Skills Development research programme within the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), as part of a consortium of research partners. A comprehensive investigation of the dynamics shaping the professional development of educators, the series provides important reading for educationists, academics and policy-makers.