Background: Research into language and reading scores show that South African learners struggle to read for meaning. Many local researchers report on the inadequate teaching training programmes. Teachers cannot teach basic comprehenion skills. Objectives: This research identifies a gap in the research and records an intervention programme designed…

Background: Many South African learners seem unprepared for formal education, and a need for intervention during early childhood has been identified. Aim: The present study explored the effect of infant exposure to an early childhood development programme aimed at the sensory developmental stage of the infant's brain. Setting: Participants were…

This study established the effects of a researcher-developed curriculum-based intervention programme. The intervention was grounded on principles of Feuerstein's ideas about 'mediated learning'. The aim of the intervention was specifically to address children's executive functions, which are generally regarded as prerequisites for cognitive…

This edited volume brings together large-scale research as well as case studies from a range of geographical contexts and represents a variety of educational settings involving second language learners and users. Its aim is to explore the interrelated issues of psychology and technology use in second language learning settings as well as in more…

The present study explored the effects of a mediated intervention programme on a sample of Grade 5 learners, in a remedial school. The participants (n = 20) were systematically sampled and they constituted two groups; namely, Individual Mediation (n = 10) and Group Mediation (n = 10). It was hypothesised that participants exposed to this programme…

The study sought to understand adolescents' perceived career challenges and needs in a disadvantaged context using the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). A qualitative research design based on semi-structured interviews was conducted with 12 Grade 9 and Grade 10 learners from a disadvantaged background. The results of the study indicated a…

Adjunct aids are instructional interventions inserted in textbooks in view of supporting learners to process the information. Different types of adjunct aids are assumed to support different cognitive processes. Research on adjunct aids has focussed on the learning effects of single types of adjunct aids. In this study, the learning effects of…

Drawing on experience in South Africa, college-student learning difficulties are approached as problems in accessing and mastering the cognitive processes needed to develop the specific academic literacy required for the disciplines. Based on this theory, the article argues for integration of such academic development into mainstream…