The Tygerberg Children's Choir (TCC) is rooted in South Africa's Afrikaner culture. Its transition to a multicultural children's choir, within a drastically changed political dispensation, furnished a rich subject for a historiographic choir identity investigation. From its establishment in 1972 until 2019, Hendrik D. Loock was the conductor.…

We examine the benefits of developing critically reflexive learners through life story performance embedded in a Critical Reflexive Model. Students are invited to work with their life stories in a safe, dialogical space and to deconstruct various forms of power and its influence on their lives. Using a mix of creative and embodied methodologies,…

The effectiveness of community based rehabilitation (CBR) programmes depends on the calibre of staff recruited and employed. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how the life experiences of community disability workers (CDWs) in Malawi, Botswana and South Africa influenced their choice of career. A life history approach was used to gather…

Since 1994, the eyes of the world have been on South Africa, observing with interest the societal reconstruction project, upon which the country had embarked. In this project, higher education is both the terrain and the perceived instrument of change. In this higher education system and its mission, the academic profession is pivotal--especially,…

We examined the perceptions of teachers on the importance and competence of principals as leaders before and after an intervention programme on holistic leadership. The research was quantitative and contextualized in the Secunda region of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. The methodology followed a literature study and an empirical…

The study presents a framework for investigating the powerful resources within learners' educational biographies, which, from their own accounts, appear to influence their engagement with teaching and learning practices. The research framework stresses the material, social and cultural influences on a learner's biography and the need for…

Much of the literature around the notions of discourse and identity explores how education (particularly higher education) might develop academic discourses and identities in students. There is however a dearth of work relating to what the development of academic discourses and identities in students might mean for the lecturers who teach them.…

The present article draws from the biographical narratives of three South African high school female principals which are part of a larger research study in which 26 aspiring and practicing women school leaders were interviewed. Narratives were constructed from in-depth interviews with each participant and analyzed for themes that provided…

This article explores how a linguistically diverse, subject English class can become a multilingual contact zone in which naturalised linguistic identities are made visible and interrogated. The research is situated in a highly diverse, educational context--Wits School of Education in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is framed by a society in…

Based on life history accounts of two elementary school teachers in South Africa, this article examines the construction of two teachers' mathematics identities. In the article we juxtapose these identities with the identity forms that are envisaged by the policymakers and the mathematics reforms currently underway in the country. Using the data…

Is one's age in academia a burden or a blessing? On this, the evidence is equivocal. However, the evidence is unequivocal on the increasing importance of age in the policies and administration of higher education; the workforce is ageing and what are people to do? This article contributes to existing literature by examining the role of age and…

Highlights the recent history of South African education using life histories of two black teachers (one beginning and one experienced) whose careers as students and then teachers evolved against a backdrop of social and political conflict. The article considers ways that selected theories of oppression and resistance explain or fail to explain…

South African women in informal settlements lack access to education and employment opportunities, making them vulnerable to exploitation and poverty. A collaborative narrative inquiry was undertaken to compile the life histories of 16 women, identifying their participation in community building. The process combined popular education and feminist…