Hanlie Botha worked with Prof Kobus Maree as supervisor and Dr Gerrit Stols as co-supervisor on the theme of “Exploring mathematical literacy: The relationship between teachers’ knowledge and beliefs and their instructional practices”. External examiners were Prof John Barnard (world-renowned expert on Rasch analysis and quantitative research), Dr Martha van der Walt (UNW) and Dr Dusi Sibaya (Unizul). The examiners commended the candidate on the innovative subject she chose for her research and noted that her academic discussion of the work during the oral was exemplary.

Lindelani Mnguni worked with Dr Mia Abrie as supervisor and Dr Liesel Ebersohn as co-supervisor on “The relationship between the Grade 11 Biology curriculum and HIV and AIDS behaviour transformation of students”. His examiners were Prof Terry de Jong (Australia), Prof Leslie Wood (NMMU) and Prof Martie Sanders (Wits). He was commended for his methodology and his contribution to the debate around applications of the theory of planned behaviour, which produced some interesting discussions around controversies and challenges of application of such a theory in the field of risky behaviour by young adolescents.

Sonja van Putten worked with Dr Gerrit Stols as supervisor and Prof Sarah Howie on the theme of “Professional mathematics teacher identity in the context of pre-service training”. She will be doing her oral examination shortly.

Batseba Mofolo-Mbokane worked with Prof Johann Engelbrecht as supervisor and Prof Ansie Harding as co-supervisor on "Learning difficulties involving volumes of solids of revolution: A comparative study of engineering students at two colleges of Further Education and Training in South Africa" .

This is a remarkable achievement for academics with full workloads. Prof Max Braun, head of the department, congratulated his colleagues on their excellent work and wished them well on a strong start to their careers as researchers and supervisors.