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This paper describes an analysis of data on learner performance in a research project to explore the impact of a textbook, Maths for all2 (Mfa) in primary mathematics classrooms. A quasi- experimental design was used, and a random sample of 14 classrooms from ex-DET primary schools in Cape Town was selected, 10 of which were given class sets of the textbook at the start of the project, and 4 were given these sets only after the project was completed. Contextual and other information from the study was available to inform the data analysis. This paper describes a statistical analysis of pre- and post-tests performance on items in an instrument with 31 items exploring some of the material in the textbook. The purpose of the paper is to describe a thorough approach to the analysis, but at the same time specify the limitations of the design and analysis. The demands of rigour on the one hand, and the constraints on researchers' access to schools, and to resources, do not lie easily with one another, a...

This paper describes a research project that was undertaken to explore the impact of a textbook, Maths for all, in primary mathematics classrooms. A quasi-experimental design was used, and a random sample of 14 classrooms from ex-DET primary schools in Cape Town was selected, 10 of which were given class sets of the textbook at the start of the project, and 4 were given these sets only after the project was completed. Data from interviews, questionnaires, classroom observation and pre-and post-tests were collected. An analysis of aspects of the textbook was undertaken, and of its use by teachers in classrooms. It is argued that the inductive style prioritised by the textbook is in tension with the preferred deductive style of most of the teachers, resulting in the fragmenting of its semantic structure. Statistical analysis of pre- and post-tests revealed no educationally significant differences between students with access to the textbook and those without access. The majority of learners (n=538) ...