An extensive body of research exists on the background characteristics that predict learner achievement. However, in South Africa, little attention has been paid to the level of educational aspirations and the factors that shape the level of aspirations. Using a bio-ecological systems theory of development, we explored the role of gender,…

Background: Rural learners face severe reading challenges that are unique to their environment. The challenges include parents' low level of education, little or no parental support, lack of reading material, and parents' low socio-economic status. It is therefore important that rural education research highlights these challenges in order to help…

Background: Within the ambit of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the use of technology-based tools within teaching and learning is advancing rapidly at education institutions globally, including the teaching and learning of mathematics. Learners and teachers have challenges with teaching and learning fractions in mathematics. A learner's…

Sub-Saharan African countries have made remarkable strides in closing the gender gap in primary enrolment and more girls than ever are attending school. With the existing gender differentials in youth literacy rates, an important question is whether they are learning as well as their male classmates. This article explored factors that contribute…

This article examines the visibility of an African language, isiZulu, in the public domain of education in South Africa. It explores synergies and disjunctures in language use and exposure for children across the continuum from home to ECD centre and early primary school, and how they affect children's competence in reading in two languages by…

Educators are one of the stakeholders in the education system working to ensure learner success. According to the "Minimum Requirements For Teacher Education Qualifications," educators must fulfil 7 roles in their quest to impart education. In the study reported on her, we investigated Grade 6 educators' knowledge and use of mediation as…

Children in sub-Saharan African countries face higher exposure to gender-based violence (GBV) compared to their counterparts in other world regions (United Nations Children's Fund [UNICEF], 2014). When GBV occurs in schools, it severely endangers access to education. Using the third round of data of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for…

The aim of this article is to discuss the dynamics of gang involvement by considering the social reproduction perspective and resistance theory literature and by examining general perceptions of learners and adults who regularly experience gang violence. In a study utilising quantitative and qualitative design, a questionnaire was administered to…

In this article, I reflect on my use of collage-making as an arts-based method in self-study doctoral research. My self-study was guided by sociocultural learning theories that assume education is an individual activity and a social phenomenon. I ask, "How did collage-making allow me to refine my teaching and learning?" I utilized…

Being aware of our thinking as we perform learning tasks and then using this knowledge to actively self-regulate what we are doing, is commonly known as metacognition. This study investigated the influence of a story-based intervention on the development of metacognition among Intermediate Phase learners engaged in content area learning. Two…

Background: Academic achievement is influenced by a system of internal and external stimuli. Internal stimuli include interest, willingness and academic motivation. In South Africa, efforts to improve the quality of education have mostly focused on the provision of physical resources rather than emotional resources. Aim: The aim of this study was…

Background: South African primary school learners have participated in several national and international literacy (reading and writing) studies that measure learners' achievement in different grades and at different intervals. Numerous scholars have analysed the results of these assessments. We extended their analyses by investigating the grade…

The international Eco-Schools programme promotes Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through introducing and stimulating pro-environmental initiatives by school learners and staff. This enabled learners in the Eco-Clubs at a resource-poor primary school to identify and undertake transformative pro-environmental initiatives in 2011 and 2014…

This article explored conceptions that teachers hold about classroom assessment and how these conceptions influence their classroom assessment practices. The qualitative study employed a case study approach. Semi-structured interviews, observations and document analyses were used. The study utilized Brown's (2004) conceptual framework on…

Background: The acquired skill set prior to school entry has emerged as an important issue in research and policy internationally. Much evidence exists advocating the importance of early numeracy and literacy skills in later academic achievement and economic outcomes of students. Aim: The goal of this study was to determine the association between…