Bansilal, Sarah.Goba, Barbara Busisiwe.2025-09-202025-09-2020242024https://hdl.handle.net/10413/23923Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The concept of 'knowledge systems' has led to a need for 'research on research'. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the knowledge generated by various knowledge societies, particularly within universities. This rationale drove the Project on Postgraduate Education Research (PPER) to investigate the research output in postgraduate education during the initial decade (1995-2004) following the end of apartheid in South Africa. Within the framework of PPER, this study scrutinized the body of masters and doctoral research conducted at 19 South African universities within the aforementioned period. The study aimed to address the following main research question: What forms of knowledge emerged from postgraduate studies in mathematics education research within South Africa during the years 1995 to 2004? Sub-research questions: 1.1 How were the titles of postgraduate studies in mathematics education (1995-2004) formulated and structured? 1.2 Which phenomena were more frequently explored, and which were less likely to be investigated within these postgraduate studies (1995-2004)? 1.3 What were the predominant research questions, and what assertions were made concerning these phenomena? 1.4 What were the prevalent research paradigms, designs, approaches, and methodologies employed in postgraduate studies on mathematics education (1995-2004)? 1.5 Which theories were commonly utilized and which were less frequently applied in postgraduate studies on mathematics education (1995-2004)? For each of the sub-questions mentioned above, the study delved into the identities of the students responsible for generating this knowledge, along with details about their degrees and affiliations with respective institutions. This study employed Giddens' structuration theory as its theoretical framework. It conducted an analysis of knowledge produced in a corpus of 190 postgraduate studies in mathematics education. This analysis encompassed various elements, starting from titles, research phenomena, questions, claims, methodologies, and extending to theories. The data from these theses was extracted using Suri's Methodologically Inclusive Research iii Syntheses (MIRS). Additionally, interviews were conducted with a sample of supervisors overseeing these theses. The main findings reveal that knowledge in mathematics education predominantly comes from white female postgraduates affiliated with historically white universities (HWUs). This challenges the prevailing notion that white males dominate research in this field. Notably, Wits University emerged as the primary contributor of mathematics education theses in the corpus, with a majority of these studies composed in English. When comparing this result with Khuzwayo's (2005) findings, which emphasized a focus on white education and teacher training in South African mathematics education research from 1948 to 1994, a similarity arises in terms of the demographic producing the majority of research by white postgraduates. However, this does not necessarily imply that white learners were the primary subjects of study. Instead, it suggests another way of 'objectifying' black learners and teachers, as Black Africans are frequently researched by predominantly white researchers. Additionally, the prevalence of white postgraduate students producing more mathematics education theses may result from the apartheid policy on mathematics education, where Verwoerd argued that Black African people did not need to study mathematics as it had no relevance in their communities. Verwoerd's stance remained largely unchanged in the first ten years of post-apartheid South Africa. In the domain of postgraduate studies, the construction of titles employs various linguistic devices, methodological approaches, indication of the results and epistemological stances. Among these linguistic devices, the colon is the most frequently employed. Mathematics education postgraduate studies predominantly centre around five key research phenomena: the affective domain, assessment, knowledge, cognition, and epistemologies, as well as pedagogy and technology/resources. These studies from 1995 to 2004 were primarily small-scale. Each of these phenomena is examined in terms of the research claims posited. Notably absent are studies with a focus on primary mathematics education and rural education. This finding aligns with the results of reviews conducted by Venkat, Adler Rollnick, et. al., 2009; Adler, Alshwaikh, Essack, & Gcsamba, 2017. However, the most recent review of mathematics education journal articles by Morrison, Graven, Venkat, and Vale (2023) indicates an increase in research on primary mathematics education. A prominent theoretical orientation in postgraduate studies is constructivism, particularly within HWUs. Additionally, the preferred approach in mathematics education studies conducted in South Africa between 1995 and 2004 was the case study research design.enCC0 1.0 Universalhttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/Postgraduate mathematics education.Titular construction.Gidden's Structuration theory.Thesis