This conceptual paper explores the integration of "Ubuntu" philosophy in the school social work practice in South Africa, suggesting a transformative framework to enhance social work practice in a school setting based on the principles of interconnectedness, compassion and community. Drawing from critical social work theories, cultural…

Utilising a social constructivist lens, this study explores how students from rural areas constitute and negotiate their identities in the context of an urban South African university. Much of the research on rurality in South Africa has focused on rural areas as places, and not on the people occupying them. This qualitative study employed a…

The dismissal and devaluing of indigenous knowledge during the successive eras of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa compelled the African majority to adopt the colonisers' values, attitudes, language, cultural practices, morality, and institutions. In education, the consequent neglect of sociocultural contexts inevitably influenced the…

This synthesis of 30 qualitative studies examined young people's views on pornography related to their sexual health. Synthesis revealed pornography use is considered normal by young people, reinforced by its usefulness as a tool for pleasure, information, and instruction in the absence of sufficient sexuality education. However, youth can become…

Graduates' employment outcomes remain a critical factor for all stakeholders in the sector. Positive graduate outcomes enhance students' aspirations for a university, accountability to the government for funding, and as a proxy for university quality and curriculum relevance. However, with high unemployment rate, graduates feel unprepared for the…

The study reported in this paper centred on the question whether the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 had any effect on the status of religion / religious education in South Africa. Although South Africa is geographically far removed from Eastern Europe, the socio-political situation in South Africa was deeply affected by the fall of the Wall,…

During South Africa's apartheid era, the social and political ideology of Afrikaner nationalism Othered those who disrupted an idealised vision of white heteronormative Afrikaner masculinity. While protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation were enshrined in the post-apartheid constitution in 1996, anti-LGBTQ violence…

Research demonstrates that teachers' cultural perspectives influence how they teach sexuality education; however, it is not clear how this occurs. Therefore, in my study, I explored how Xhosa teachers' cultural perspectives influenced their practice of teaching sexuality education to adolescent Xhosa learners. I purposively selected 9 female Xhosa…

Kohlberg's theory of moral development has maintained a dominant position in cognitive moral development literature over several decades. This universal influence has been particularly evident in its application to moral education literature and policy. A closer assessment of Kohlberg's theoretical conceptualization suggests the application of…

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) has gained recognition as an important means of promoting the holistic development of the inseparable social, emotional, cognitive and physical facets of education in the early childhood years. Since early childhood development poses challenges to many young children, the prolonged mandatory closure of…

Universities are criticised for overemphasising instrumental values. Instrumental values are important but universities risks undermining cultivation of humanity, critical consciousness and civic agency. Service-learning (SL) is practice that moves teaching and learning beyond the focus on technical skills and instrumental outcomes. Nonetheless,…

Research suggests that the desire to help others (value) and learning interpersonal skills (understanding) are core reasons for student volunteerism. Interpretations of such reports often minimise the role of contextual factors in shaping volunteer motives. This study considers the policy and institutional contexts that advocate for community…

Well-being is realised through the interaction of the individual's desires and capacities, and external contexts. Contexts in postcolonial societies diverge from the assumptions of functioning liberal democratic states and capitalist economies often assumed in theories of schooling. Instead, these contexts are characterised by poverty and…

National education policies reference a representation of an imagined subject of schooling derived from a broader social imaginary that underpins the projects of the state, in a process which I refer to here as 'the logic of policy'. I offer an account of how this representation is derived and propose three conceptual elaborations of this view. I…

This article explores the way in which values education is incorporated in the Life Orientation (LO) curriculum of the Senior Phase (Grades 7-9) in South Africa. Researchers agree that in the light of the current need to regenerate morals and re-norm the nation, values are critical. From the moment they are born, children learn by observing…