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,…

Online learning has become a significant trend in education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Online educators, course designers and institutions need to understand the importance of social presence in the dynamics of a community of inquiry and its association with teaching and cognitive presence. This study examined whether social presence mediated…

Teachers leaving the profession before age of retirement is an ongoing problem in schools worldwide. While fewer teachers enter the profession each year, the number of teachers leaving the profession has increased. Many teachers listed lack of job satisfaction as a reason for leaving the education profession, while citing the lack of mentoring as…

The study investigated the existing organisational culture and how it affects staff turnover at a selected rural-based university. A quantitative method, using cross-sectional and survey design, was employed. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 60 respondents in the two selected faculties (Faculty of Education and…

Nearly all college students require some academic assistance throughout their learning experiences. Rather than a dependent act, help-seeking is a self-regulated and motivated strategy; however, there are mixed findings regarding the relationship between academic help-seeking and academic achievement. Thus, the current study used meta-analytic…

Extant literature has demonstrated the importance of individual and school-related factors in improving mathematics achievement. Despite this, there is still a gap in research to understand the mediating role of educational aspiration in mathematics achievement. The aim of the present study is to test the relationship between self-efficacy, school…

Background: Contextual factors are likely to influence whether young children are able to adhere to recommended health behaviours. This study aimed to: (1) describe the social and environmental characteristics of children under five living in Soweto, South Africa; and (2) determine factors associated with screen time and outdoor play in this…

The study reported in this paper centred on the question whether the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 had any effect on the status of religion / religious education in South Africa. Although South Africa is geographically far removed from Eastern Europe, the socio-political situation in South Africa was deeply affected by the fall of the Wall,…

Late language emergence (LLE) may result from genetic and environmental factors. Little is known about environmental factors in LLE in South Africa. The study describes the nature of differences in language functioning between toddlers with LLE and without LLE, and which factors were associated with LLE in a middle-income area in South Africa.…

South African Higher ]Education Institutions are diverse, highly debated by academia as well as the portfolio committee on higher education and structured with a strong focus on the customer being students, with a negligible concern for the academic and professional employees. The revolutionary changes at Higher Education Institution have gestured…

This article examines the relationship between housing, a critical aspect of socio-economic conditions, and literacy achievement of children from a school in a high density suburb in South Africa. Data was collected through a quantitative survey that was administered to learners (N = 160) from four Grade Five classes. The survey included five…

International research has shown that the quality of school leadership and management (SLM) is important for teaching and learning, particularly in schools where there is acute resource deprivation. This article explores the relationship between leadership and academic achievement in South African secondary schools with varying socio-economic…

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between family routines, cognitive appraisal of the impact of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) on the family and family quality of life (FQOL) in families raising children with ASD in South Africa. Methods: A sample of 180 families of young children with ASD who were…

Background: The role of teachers in nurturing students' sense of belonging cannot be overemphasised. Students who do not feel accepted by their teachers are at risk of withdrawing from school life and feeling disaffected. This study contributes to theories on school belonging by investigating the contribution of teachers to students' sense of…

This article explores the ways in which playback theatre was used to interrogate the views of adolescents on their social context(s) and establish what the personal and dominant discourses operating in their views were. Playback theatre, with its focus on reframing personal stories to generate new perspectives on these stories, was an appropriate…