Abstract
Research has been conducted on the use of technology in the mathematics classroom. However, specific studies focusing on the South African context are still limited. This study is a systematic literature review on the use of digital technologies to teach grade R-12 mathematics with a complete focus on the South African context. 106 articles were generated by the search strategy from Sabinet, EBSCOhost, Scopus, Taylor and Francis and Web of Science databases using keywords such as "digital technologies," "mathematics education," "grade R-12," and "South Africa". The inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to the generated articleswhich resulted to the exclusion of 89 articles. Inclusion criteria focused on studies conducted in the South African context, using digital technologies in mathematics education, and published between 2013-2023. Quality assessment involved eliminating duplicates, irrelevant titles, and non-empirical studies, resulting in 17 articles being eligible for inclusion. The included articles were a combination of quantitative, qualitative, mixed method approaches and a systematic literature review.
The most used technological interventions identified by this review were computers, mobile phones, calculators, overhead projectors and interactive whiteboards. Challenges identified by the review includes, digital divide between rural and urban learners, socio-economi issues, teachers’ technological illiteracy, lack of digital infrastructure and lack of support from the school management. The review recommended continuous teacher development, consulting local businesses and private institutions for sponsorship of digital technologies, using resources that can be accessed offline without the internet and context based technological resources that caters for South Africa’s diversity of languages, cultural backgrounds and social experiences for inclusivity.