Focus Areas
The Zenex Foundation has three core focus areas through which it carries out work :
Findings from the Grade 3 Mathematics Backlogs Action Research Project
Introduction The Grade 3 Mathematics Backlogs Action Research Project was undertaken by the University of Fort Hare’s Nelson Mandela Institute for Education and Rural Development (NMI) to: (i) explore the nature of mathematics backlogs, and (ii) design materials to...
Funda Uphumelele National Survey Project
Introduction Reading is the fundamental basis upon which education is built. Therefore, it is important to assess and track learners’ ability to read with reference to the standards of vocabulary and fluency as laid out in Foundation Phase Grade curriculums. While...
ICTs in early-grade mathematics education in South Africa
Why … review ICT programmes in early-grade mathematics education? Mathematics is powerful. A strong mathematical understanding can unlock opportunities, but South African learners gravely underperform in this subject. ICT applications hold enormous potential to teach...
The role of language in the teaching and learning of early-grade mathematics
Why … investigate the role of language in early-grade mathematics teaching and learning? South African learners in Grades 4 and 5 performed dismally in reading and mathematics in two recent international assessments (PIRLS 2021 and TIMSS 2019, respectively)....
Grade 4 Reading Catch-Up Programme: summary of impact report
Grade 4 Reading Catch-Up Programme: summary of impact report Name of organisation/service provider: Wits University: Led by Prof. Brahm Fleisch, Dr Stephen Taylor and Dr Thabo Mabogoane Name of Project / Intervention: Reading Catch-Up Research Project Duration of...
Developing an Alternate Approach to Group Guided Reading (GGR) Research Study in Early Grade Literacy
Introduction The South African national curriculum promotes Group Guided Reading (GGR) as the core Foundation Phase reading instructional strategy. Following GGR, learners with similar reading abilities are placed in small groups and appropriate reading material is...
Developing a Programme to Address Mathematics Backlogs in Grade 3
Introduction Recent research in Foundation Phase numeracy shows that the current mismatch between learner competence and grade-level demands is negatively affecting learning outcomes. The problem stems from the overloaded curriculum, which teachers struggle to cover...
Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS)
The study was initiated to implement and evaluate three models of support to determine what model/s could improve the acquisition of literacy skills among learners and at what cost. Specifically, the study was designed to test interventions that could be implemented...
Primary Teacher Education Project
A multi-year project on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) aimed at improving performance in Mathematics and literacy at primary level through teacher graduates with competence to work with children to develop their language/literacy and Mathematical competencies at the...
Mathematics in African Languages Research Project
The research was undertaken to better understand how children learn mathematics in African languages. The project also developed and tested teaching and learning resources for Foundation Phase mathematics in isiXhosa that was informed by the research. Name of...