South African Numeracy Chair (SANC)
The South African Numeracy Chair at Rhodes University is part of the FirstRand Foundation Mathematics Chairs Initiative. Five such Chairs have been provided so far in South Africa. Three in Mathematics Education: Wits, Rhodes and NMMU and two in Numeracy Education: Wits and Rhodes. The Chairs are generously funded by the FirstRand Foundation, Anglo American, Rand Merchant Bank, the Department of Science and Technology and is administered by the National Research Foundation. The Chairs will receive funding for a five year period dependant on the achievement of objectives and subject to available funding.
The focus of these chairs is equally on research and development. The four interrelated objectives of the numeracy Chairs are:
- To improve the quality of teaching of in-service teachers at the primary school level
- To improve learner performance in primary schools as a result of quality teaching and learning
- To research sustainable and practical solutions to the challenges of improving numeracy in schools
- To provide leadership in numeracy education and increase dialogue around solutions for the mathematics education crisis
With these objectives in mind the South African Numeracy Chair at Rhodes University conceptualised the work of the Chair project around the development of two passionate and innovative interconnected communities of practice. These are NICLE (Numeracy Inquiry Community of Leader Educators) and Researchers.
Because of this 50:50 focus on both research and development, the Chair is both a position and a project, with a number of sub-projects.
Within the Chair endeavour, our key projects include:
- NICLE
- After School Maths Clubs
- Homework Drive
- Grahamstown Numeracy Buzz
Community of Practice
The Chair participates in an annual Community of Practice forum.
