South African Primary Education Student Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematical Fluency and Assessment: Structure and Group Differences

Mathematical fluency is increasingly conceptualised as the integration of accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility rather than speed or rote recall alone. However, beliefs about fluency often continue to emphasise procedural efficiency and speed. This study investigates first-and third year South African primary education student teachers’ beliefs about mathematical fluency, with particular attention to conceptual-procedural relationships, strategic flexibility, and approaches to assessment. A quantitative descriptive survey design was employed. Data were collected from 320 student teachers at a South African university using a theoretically grounded 19-item Likert-type questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis using Principal Axis Factoring, together with reliability and inferential analyses, was conducted to examine the structure and development of participants' beliefs. The analysis revealed a two-factor structure, comprising conceptual-strategic fluency beliefs and timed assessment beliefs. The first factor reflected an integrated view of conceptual understanding, procedural knowledge, and strategic use, while the second reflected beliefs about assessment fluency and speed. The factors were weakly correlated, indicating that beliefs about mathematical fluency and its assessment operate as related but distinct dimensions. Significant differences were found between first-and third-year students for both factors, although effect sizes were small (?2 = .016 and .035), suggesting gradual belief development during teacher education. The findings indicate that student teachers increasingly endorse reform-oriented conceptions of fluency, while beliefs about assessment remain less coherent and more variable.