Dr Van Staden, a researcher at the CEA and also a lecturer in the Department of Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (SMTE) at the University of Pretoria received a travel grant through the University’s staff exchange programme.

She met with an expert in evidence-based education, Prof Roel Bosker, a Professor of Educational Science at the University of Groningen and also the head of GION. South Africa participated in the PIRLS 2011, an international comparative study conducted under the auspices of the IEA. Dr Van Staden, co-national research coordinator for the study, in discussions with Prof Bosker, explored the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2011 data for publication purposes in anticipation of the official results release on 11 December 2012.