Teaching data handling in foundation phase: Teachers’ experiences

Abstract

Data handling plays an important role within mathematics education since it encompasses real-world situations and assists in developing critical thinking skills in learners. However, globally international assessments disclose that learners are not performing well in data handling. This article explores foundation phase South African teachers’ experiences of teaching data handling. This exploration is based on the findings of a qualitative study framed within the ambit of social constructivism. Data were gathered via a teacher questionnaire, lesson observations and semi-structured interviews with eight participants from seven different primary schools. The findings indicate that participants used different pedagogic strategies when teaching data handling. These pedagogic strategies included group work, group discussions and demonstrations. The subsequent findings could benefit foundation phase curriculum developers as well as mathematics teachers and researchers in the foundation phase.