Picking up the pace: Variation in the structure and organisation of learning school mathematics

What is it about curriculum and pedagogy that really makes the difference to pupil learning?1 Do particular pedagogic features matter in teaching learners thematics? Or is it rather the range of factors associated with making mathematics available to learners for learning? What makes the real difference: pedagogic style or opportunity to learn? The paper discusses why it is plausible to study opportunity to learn (OTL) in South Africa. It outlines some of the methods used to operationalise particular dimensions of OTL and measure variation in the structure and organization of school mathematics. Data are presented on the mathematics knowledge made available to low SES grade 5 and 6 learners in the first three terms of 2003 in terms of content complexity and across grade developmental complexity. The effects of this availability on learning will be reported on in future papers