With evidence of global climate change and ongoing ecological degradation, there is an urgent need to give more attention to sustainability within VET to ensure that VET does not remain complicit in reproducing the unjust and unsustainable trajectories of current economic and development pathways. At present, the VET literature does not adequately…

The last three decades have seen significant educational reform, which have influenced the transformation of assessment practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). In addition, various societal and global changes have required that higher education create adaptive graduates who acquire and develop higher-order skills which include…

When writing about transformation in higher education (HE) in South Africa, it is quite popular to mention the fall of apartheid, and perhaps also 1994, as a starting point for significant change. I, myself, have made this mistake (see Bernard, 2015). However, the recent #FeesMustFall protests highlighted that many approaches to transformation…

The purpose of the study reported on here was to explore the implementation of learner integration and its challenges in a selected former Model C school. This is an expansion of the findings of a larger study, "Understanding and enhancing of learner integration in a selected ex-model C school" by Theresia Joakim Kanyopa. Based on South…

This article explores student teachers' resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic and their ability to thrive in online teaching practice. Amid the pandemic's unprecedented challenges, student teachers exhibited remarkable adaptability in navigating the shift to remote teaching. Through qualitative research and thematic analysis, this article delves…

Increasingly, novice teachers function in complex learning environments that require heightened resilience and making calculated, sometimes unexpected decisions. Undoubtedly, novice teachers in the African context must adapt to the persistent weaknesses of inadequate education systems, characterized by underperforming learners, high learner…

Worldwide, COVID-19 has affected the most deprived communities the hardest and exposed many systemic inequalities, leaving nations vulnerable and destitute. The need for quality education, while heeding to international mandates, including enacting the sustainable development goals (SDG), has become more apparent in promoting equitable and…

This paper reports the findings of a dialogical narrative analysis conducted by two white academics in distinct higher education contexts -- one based in the United States and the other in South Africa. Through the retelling of actual classroom scenarios, the authors assess their own teaching methods, responses, and classroom practices in order to…

The term "social justice" cuts across disciplines and theoretical orientations. Critical theory underpinned the study reported on in this article. Many South African schools, particularly in poverty stricken communities, still experience insurmountable economic and social injustices despite progress since the apartheid regime. The…

In this third and final paper from the Delphi study One Direction, we report on participants' responses to four secondary school music curriculum scenarios. These scenarios present four possible directions for a C21 secondary school music curriculum. The scenarios were devised from a combination of ideas derived from the data from the earlier…

In recent years, deanship in universities has become more complex and challenging. Deans in South African universities take up their positions without appropriate training and prior executive experience, and with no clear understanding of the ambiguity and complexity of their roles. This paper calls for appropriate leadership development…

Background: The need for transforming South African education can ultimately be traced to a form of Western subjectivity which dominated Europe since the classical age (1600-1750). The notions of 'discipline' and 'subjectivity' suggest distinct associations with repressive regimes like apartheid, and the present article will argue that the…

A key indicator of the academic worth, value and development of a university is its research capacity and publications. The universities of technologies (UoTs) that merged from former technikons have been poorly ranked due to low research performance. Hands have been pointed at the academics, some school of thought blamed the institutions, others…

The 2015-2016 South African higher education students' movement proved historical for our country in bringing to our dinner tables: issues of higher education transformation and decolonisation; institutional culture(s); curriculum reform; the need to foreground and make inclusive assessment in education; the coloniality in our knowledge…

This paper reports a phenomenographic study exploring diverse understandings and experiences of teacher leadership among 12 members of the International Study of Teacher Leadership research team comprised of 20 academics located in 10 countries. Mind mapping and semi-structured, online interviews were used to explore the ways that the participants…