Learning material in compliance with the Revised National Curriculum Statement: A dilemma

Abstract

This paper reports on the challenges confronting a developer of mathematics learning material according to the Revised National Curriculum Statement of South Africa. The material development is based on the approach to learning embodied in Realistic Mathematics Education in the Netherlands. It is a real challenge to realise the learning outcomes and assessment standards in the South African curriculum and simultaneously to explore learners’ informal strategies to come up with their ‘own’ solutions to practical problems and thus to experience mathematics as real, relevant and enjoyable.