The complexity of the articulation gap between school and higher education poses enormous challenges to institutions of higher learning in South Africa. In response to this predicament, various strategic interventions were adopted with a view to adequately address student under-preparedness for tertiary studies. As a gateway knowledge domain, mathematics forms an integral part of various curriculum programs geared towards the cultivation of skills required by the mainstream economy. However, inadequate student academic performance in mathematics remains a pervasive pedagogic challenge afflicting meaningful enhancement of human capital development through inculcation of critical skills. In recognition of this fundamental challenge, this study explored at-risk undergraduate engineering students' perceptions of the remedial intervention which was implemented to enhance their academic performance in mathematics at a South African university. Additional critical academic support was provided to this cohort of students as mathematics repeat students in order to maximise opportunities for success with a view to subsequently ensure their survival of academic exclusion on the basis of sustained inadequate academic performance. The students expressed positive sentiments about the efficacy of the remedial intervention implemented as it provided meaningful opportunities to improve their academic performance in mathematics as a key knowledge domain. The students indicated that the implementation of remedial interventions of this nature serves to safeguard future prospects for under-prepared students while boosting the throughput rates of higher education institutions. Furthermore, the students provided contextually appropriate recommendations for strengthening remedial interventions of this nature to ensure the academic survival of at-risk students in particular. Implications for meaningful enhancement of human capital development are discussed.

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The advent of the fourth industrial revolution provides opportunities for teachers as key agents of educational change to fully embrace digital transformation in its broadest sense with a view to foster pedagogic innovation. In view of this key strategic imperative, this study explored South African in-service teachers' baseline knowledge of mathematics in the Further Education and Training (FET) Phase. In terms of the structure of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), the FET Phase is comprised of Grades 10, 11 and 12. A mathematics professional development intervention involving 30 teachers was implemented during which a diagnostic assessment test was administered as a pre-test and post-test to evaluate teachers' baseline knowledge of FET mathematics. The results of the diagnostic assessment test revealed pervasive knowledge gaps associated with various topics in FET mathematics. In addition, there was no meaningful correlation between teacher professional experience and knowledge of FET mathematics. While the pre-test results painted a gloomy picture about teachers' baseline knowledge of FET mathematics, the post-test results revealed a marginal improvement with the overall performance of the teachers remaining below 65%. The inadequate learner performance in mathematics in South Africa can partly be attributed to pervasive knowledge gaps exhibited by teachers in various topics. There is a critical need for sustainable teacher professional development interventions to strengthen teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics as a key knowledge domain. Implications for sustainable teacher professional development and meaningful curriculum reform are discussed.

The complexity of the articulation gap between school and higher education posed enormous challenges to institutions of higher learning in South Africa. In response to this predicament, various strategic interventions were adopted with a view to adequately address student under-preparedness for tertiary studies. As a gateway knowledge domain, mathematics forms an integral part of various curriculum programs geared towards the cultivation of skills required by the mainstream economy. However, inadequate student academic performance in mathematics remains a pervasive pedagogic challenge afflicting meaningful enhancement of human capital development through inculcation of critical skills. In recognition of this fundamental challenge, undergraduate science students' academic performance in mathematics was tracked over a two year period as part of a longitudinal study at a South African university with a view to assess the efficacy of the remedial interventions underpinning the concomitant extended curriculum program. The students were enrolled for a degree program in science specialising in Analytical Chemistry. In addition, the students were placed in the extended curriculum program by virtue of their inadequate overall admission score. The student cohort constituted a purposive sample within the context of this study. By its very nature, the intrinsic structure of the concomitant extended curriculum program makes provision for the implementation of remedial interventions to provide critical academic support to the students as they are viewed as at-risk cohort by virtue of their profile. The duration of the extended curriculum program is longer than the normal duration of a mainstream curriculum program. The students were divided into two groups according to the profile of their overall admission score. Analysis of student academic performance in mathematics over the two year period revealed disparity in the performance of the two groups. Students in the group with a comparatively higher overall admission score demonstrated a higher academic performance in mathematics during the period under review. While the students with a comparatively lower overall admission score derived benefits from the remedial interventions put in place, there is a crucial need to reconfigure the inherent structure of the remedial interventions in order to address the performance disparity between the two groups. Theoretical implications for meaningful curriculum reform are discussed.