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APM as it is currently known originated in 2006 during the implementation of a new curriculum in South Africa. Because a curriculum is a product and expression of the political interests, values and knowledge of the dominant social group, curriculum knowledge cannot be neutral (Jansen, 1998). Therefore, to position APM within the South African Mathematics education scene, it is necessary to give a brief overview of curriculum development in South Africa in the post–apartheid era before discussing the development of APM.

2.5.1 Curriculum development in South Africa in the post-apartheid era

South Africa is a young democracy of two decades within which four waves of curriculum reforms have occurred. The first attempt was in 1995 with the White Paper on Education and Training that called for the transformation of the school curriculum and formation of democratic structures (DoE, 1995). Jansen (1999) describes this as a sort of ‘cleansing’ through cutting out offensive and outdated aspects of the apartheid curriculum, regardless of their pedagogical soundness.

In 1997, a second educational approach, called Curriculum 2005, was announced. This new Outcomes Based Education (OBE) was part of a global educational curriculum reform phenomenon and brought about radical reform in school curricula. It brought a change from a content-based curriculum to a curriculum that specified different outcomes as learning goals (Cross, Mungadi & Rouhani, 2002). It also introduced a change from ‘fundamental pedagogies’ (a racially based prescribed set of learning objectives) to ‘progressive pedagogy’ (learner-centred teaching and learning strategies)

(Cross et al., 2002, p. 10). These outcomes are demonstrations of what learners can do with their knowledge, rather than the production of knowledge (Rogan, 2007). Cross et al., (2002) argue that underpinning Curriculum 2005 is the integration of education and

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training (as opposed to the separation between academic and vocational education in the old curriculum), the need for an integrated regulatory framework which gained form in the National Qualifications Framework, and concerns with the job placement needs of learners in the context of globalisation. It can also be linked to the debates on the changing mode of knowledge production.

The National Curriculum Statement Grades 10 – 12 (General) seeks to promote human rights, inclusivity, environmental and social justice. In particular, the National Curriculum Statement Grades 10 – 12 (General) is sensitive to issues of diversity such as poverty, inequality and race (DoE, 2003).

Many educationists in South Africa have taken a stance either for or against OBE. Some scholars, such as Mahomed (1999) and Malcolm (1999), have defended OBE while others, like Jansen and Christie (1999), Chisholm (2003) and Jonathan (2000), have been very sceptical.

In 2008 the National Senior Certificate (NSC) replaced the Senior Certificate (SC). The distinction between higher grade and standard grade was abolished, and part of the Mathematics syllabus (Euclidean Geometry, Probability, and Recursive Patterns) was moved to an optional third paper. The 2008 school-leavers were the first group of learners who had followed the OBE curriculum for their entire school career.

In 2012 the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) was released, to be implemented from 2012 to 2014 (DBE, 2011). This document identified inclusivity as one of the general aims of the South African curriculum. Inclusivity is therefore fore grounded, and giftedness is identified as one of the ‘exceptionalities’ that need to be addressed (Oswald & De Villiers, 2013). Although the research in this study was done on OBE learners, this fact is positive for the future of education of the gifted in South Africa.

2.5.2 The development of the APM course

With the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in 2006, one of the subjects, Additional Mathematics, was removed. This was an optional subject in the syllabus, aimed at mathematically talented students, which laid a solid foundation for university studies in Mathematics. Other major changes were the reduction of the

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number of subjects for Grade 10 students and integration of higher grade and standard grade Mathematics into one Mathematics course.

Subsequent to these changes, a group of passionate teachers, from both independent and state schools, and university mathematicians, under the leadership of Stephen Sproule, decided to correct what they saw as a problem. They had worked since 2004 to prepare 17 unit standards for a new subject called APM to replace Additional Mathematics. The new NCS document opened the door for this, by stating that a learner could take a maximum of one subject from any other assessment body (with the permission of the Minister of Education). These unit standards were registered by the IEB (Independent Examination Board) at the South African Qualifications Authority, and their quality assured by the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Training (UMALUSI).

The IEB was not the only organisation that introduced an APM course. Several private tutors started to establish centres throughout the country where the APM syllabus or a large part thereof was taught. One of these centres, the Admaths Centre in Brackenfell, also developed an online course for APM. Other examples of such centres are Advantage Maths in KwaZulu-Natal and Alpha Mathematics in Gauteng.

In the APM curriculum statement (DoE, 2006), the IEB makes several claims regarding the benefits of APM. It claims that the study of APM will enable learners to a) extend their mathematical knowledge and develop confidence in their ability to solve new problems, b) solve these problems with sophisticated mathematical processes and in a creative and critical way, c) persevere patiently when problems require more time, both on their own or with peers, d) validate their own answers and to focus on the process and not just on the right answer, e) use the language and symbols of Mathematics to communicate, f) be able to see the relevance of Mathematics in their everyday lives and Science and to use these effectively as problem solvers in their communities.

To the author’s knowledge, no literature is available on South African AP courses that can confirm or refute these claims. It was therefore necessary to engage with available literature from other countries to determine the impact of AP courses and the relevance of these claims.

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