Purpose: This study aims to examine six South African universities with a particular focus on the quality of teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study approach was adopted and data were mainly generated by means of open-ended questionnaires. The questionnaire was circulated to approximately 1,800 students and 746…

This article argues that imaginative play can fulfil a valuable role in the development of reading among pre-school children. It uses Feuerstein's Mediated Learning Experience as a theoretical lens and defines the concepts related to imaginative play, focussing particularly on symbolic and dramatic play. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of…

Note-taking is one of the more common and ever-present learning activities that form an important part of all students' daily lives. The potential of using technology to enhance note-taking activities has recently come under the spotlight. However, while mobile technologies may be applauded for their mobility and the value they can add to…

The purpose of this case study is to explore the integration of technology into teaching at a mathematics department at a large South African University. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from staff teaching undergraduate mathematics. The study shows that many staff members feel that chalkboards are still more suitable than…

Although buoyed by the induction of a democratic government, and the high ideals of our constitution, the South African education system has in many ways not met the expectations of its people, in this case, the mathematics education community. With the birth of an expansive intended curriculum came the monitoring of the outcomes through systemic…

Despite calls to address global challenges through community engagement, engineers are not formally prepared to engage with communities. Little research has been done on means to address this "engagement gap" in engineering education. We examine the efficacy of an intensive, two-day Community Engagement Workshop for engineers, designed…

This paper presents an enrichment case study to showcase a possible avenue for attending to the needs of academically strong mathematics students. We report on a group of university students who were presented with the opportunity of exploring a specific first year mathematics topic deeper, using an inquiry-based learning approach as part of an…

The choice of which language strategies to use in schools in Africa is the subject of much debate. In the Life Sciences, cultural issues associated with the use of biological terminology add to this debate. In our study, we examined the language choices made by Grade 7 Natural Sciences teachers in South Africa during their teaching of human…

Mathematics is fundamental to national prosperity in providing tools for understanding science, technology, engineering and economics. It is essential in public decision-making and for participation in the knowledge economy. Mathematics equips pupils with uniquely powerful ways to describe, analyse and change the world. It can stimulate moments of…

South African higher education in the past year has seen violent calls for decolonisation of the curriculum, as a way of addressing the passive nature of education. The inability of the curriculum to respond to contextual issues, empower students to come of age, while at the same time remain committed to giving them a plurality of voices has been…

The present paper reports on early-career academics' (ECAs) experiences of support for teaching in a research-intensive university in Africa. Through conducting a questionnaire and follow up in-depth interviews greater insight into how ECAs perceive and experience support for developing their teaching practice, is gained. Our analysis suggests…

"Personal learning environments" (PLEs) and "personal learning networks" (PLNs) are well-known concepts. A personal learning network "cluster" is a small group of people who regularly interact academically and whose PLNs have a non-empty intersection that includes all the other members. At university level PLN…

Medical microbiology presents a challenge to undergraduate students, mostly due to its extensive content and complexity of unfamiliar terminology. In addition to a narrative review of the literature, we report findings on students' motivation for and approach to learning in the Infections module of an undergraduate medical curriculum, and their…

This paper reports on teachers' views on concept mapping: its applicability; reliability; advantages and; difficulties. A close-ended questionnaire was administered to 50 purposefully selected secondary school mathematics teachers from Sekhukhune District, Limpopo, South Africa. The findings indicate that mathematics teachers generally perceive…

The teaching-research "nexus" has been an area of historic and ongoing controversy within universities and discussions into the nexus between teaching and research continues to expand. Within the accounting discipline, where new knowledge is perceived to be located "outside" the university, academics struggle to describe and…