Purpose: Scholars have been sounding the alarm of novice teacher turnover crises for decades. South Africa is soon to be facing an educational catastrophe because of a shortage of experienced teachers. Globally and in South Africa, novice teacher attrition is high, and teachers entering the classroom often described feeling isolated and…

This paper stems from a broader study that foregrounded an existing mentoring programme against the backdrop of low teacher retention in the South African schooling system. It works from the premise that beginner teachers are exiting the teaching profession within the first three to five years of teaching. This research suggests that one way of…

The need for induction is to prepare newly appointed teachers for the classroom and to adapt to the school's environment and culture. Schools approach teacher induction differently. The study argues that, if novice teachers are expected to perform their duties optimally, support structures should be in place to enhance the quality of their work.…

This article examines the relationship between the career success of early career academics (ECAs), collegiality, and their intentions to stay in the academic profession. Two different surveys were developed and administered to ECAs (n=68) and other academics (n=219) from a public university in South Africa. The data were analysed using bivariate…

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the impact of mentorship on the development of self-directedness among beginner teachers in their initial years of teaching. Design/methodology/approach: The researcher adopted a positivist paradigm to explore the situation of concern. Quantitative research was conducted, involving the collection and analysis…

Purpose: Scholarly studies on mentoring have mostly focused on traditional mentor-mentee relationships, with little or no emphasis on how institutionalized mentoring activities that include different pedagogical approaches could be used to enhance the professional development of academics. To address this knowledge gap, this article examines how…

Academic development is a mammoth undertaking that requires collective effort from all stakeholders, extending beyond academic developers alone. As early career academics, we explore our experiences of academic development within our community of practice. Through a collaborative self-study, we reveal how our community of practice has bolstered…

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of literature on online teaching and learning. Teaching mathematics in the fourth industrial revolution offers entry-level mathematics teachers formidable challenges. Despite using various teaching aids in explaining the learning area, entry-level mathematics teachers, those with zero to three…

Most novice teachers enter the schooling system lacking confidence, with low levels of pedagogical content knowledge and teaching competence, coupled with a lack of gender-inclusive school practices. This study is located within the interpretivism paradigm and used interviewing techniques to elicit data from twelve commerce teachers selected from…

Background: The Mental Starters Assessment Project (MSAP) seeks to address poor performance in Grade 3 mathematics. The programme focusses on eliminating inefficient counting methods and promoting strategic mathematical skills, including numerical sense, mental calculation and rapid recall skills. Additionally, MSAP supports teachers' professional…

Research has extensively documented the benefits of inquiry-based science teaching, but less attention has been paid to how novice teachers' personal teaching goals influence their implementation of this approach. This study aimed to explore novice physical sciences teachers' goals to understand how they relate to IBI implementation. This research…

Increasingly, novice teachers function in complex learning environments that require heightened resilience and making calculated, sometimes unexpected decisions. Undoubtedly, novice teachers in the African context must adapt to the persistent weaknesses of inadequate education systems, characterized by underperforming learners, high learner…

The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the value of inducting and mentoring new practitioners in Early Childhood Education centres. Early Childhood Education centres are usually located in meaningful buildings. Centres care for more children than the family can provide for. They are usually divided into groups or classrooms of similarly aged…