In line with international trends in early childhood care and education (ECCE) recognising the importance of early learning, the Department of Basic Education in South Africa has pledged to professionalise the sector, increase access and improve quality. From a systemic point of view, professionalisation of the sector will require collaboration on…

Background: South African narratives of and by early childhood development (ECD) practitioners often focus on policies, practices and perspectives in research. While these are important for the development of the field, the voices of ECD practitioners, in this marginalised space, are silent. Aim: This article aims to understand: Who are the ECD…

Background: Early childhood development (ECD) centres play a crucial role in children's well-being. Multifaceted obstacles hinder ECD centres registration. Overcoming these challenges demands a multisectoral approach to ensure quality education for all children. Aim: This study provides an overview of the quality of ECD centres in South Africa,…

Even though quality education is important for the empowerment of individuals and development of society, some rural schools in South Africa continue to function amid tough conditions. Because little research on the topic exists, with this article I explore and identify teachers' experiences of the working conditions in rural schools in South…

From Froebel and the constructivists's early educational theories to more recent posthumanist thinking, early childhood development (ECD) has been understood to be optimal when it occurs at the level of senses and bodies. 'Integration' discourses prevalent in ECD educational policy and curriculum debates have pointed towards sensing bodies in…

Higher-order comprehension skills are necessary to understand a text, yet many South African learners have not been taught these skills. The aim of this study is to explicitly teach higher-order reading comprehension strategies to a Grade 2 learner who could not read for meaning. This study is based upon Vygotsky's Social Constructivist theory.…

Early Childhood Development (ECD) policies are primary determinants in the provision of quality early childhood development outcomes. Healthy and safe environments play a critical role in enhancing children's care and development. This is even more critical for children living in marginalised communities to develop foundational knowledge and…

This study examined teachers' attitudes towards the inclusion of learners who experience barriers to learning in their classrooms. The study implemented the quantitative descriptive design. Sixty-three Foundation Phase (grades 1-3) teachers were recruited through the convenient sampling strategy from the Capricorn District in Limpopo Province in…

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of early childhood development (ECD) centre staff in providing care and learning support to children living in a high-risk, low socioeconomic community. We interviewed 14 staff from an ECD centre. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. We derived four…

This article explores how three well-known conceptual frameworks view child development and how they assume particular figurations of the child in the context of the South African National Curriculum Framework for Children from Birth to Four. This new curriculum is based on a children's rights framework. The capability approaches offer important…

Foundation phase teachers in South African schools follow a socio-constructivist approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics, which entails that learners experiment freely with concepts and are encouraged to communicate and share their thoughts and ideas. In an effort to understand the impact that the physical learning environment, such…

Research surrounding classroom practice is changing the way principals, School Management Teams and teachers organise their learning spaces as well as their methods of teaching and learning. In this paper, we aim to explore teachers' experiences of an invitational learning environment in culturally diverse Foundation Phase classrooms. The paper…

Background: In this article, an analysis is done of the out of school factors of Foundation Phase learners that could influence the proper development of these learners' language abilities. Specific reference is made to the home environment of Foundation Phase learners in rural Mpumalanga. Aim: This article aims to draw attention to the fact that…

Discipline is essential to learning, but in culturally diverse groups it could become a challenge for teachers. Positive discipline, respect for human rights and the creation of a sense of belonging promotes culturally responsive and disciplined learners. This study investigated the social and cultural contexts of discipline in early grade South…

Background: Early childhood education is essential in bridging home and school literacy practices; however, recognising the home as a literacy space remains a challenge to educators in South African schools. Aim: The aim of this article was to explore children's literacy practices, often through play, and the potential implications this might hold…