How teaching strategies affect learner performance CATEGORY: Inclusive Economic Development AUTHOR: Andrea Teagle Learners whose teachers linked new lessons to prior knowledge achieve significantly better results in maths and science, according to the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) South Africa, coordinated by the HSRC’s Dr Vijay Reddy. The cross-country assessment measures countries’ educational outcomes over time. The question of how to improve educational outcomes has been central to efforts to tackle enduring poverty and inequality in post-apartheid South Africa. Although South Africa spends a relatively large fraction of its public expenditure on education (6.5% of GDP in 2019, compared to a 2017 world average of 4.5%), educational outcomes remain among the poorest of countries participating in TIMSS. (Currently, 64 countries participate in the grade 4/5 assessment, and 46 participate in the grade 8/9 assessment.)