Environmental education (EE) is an integrated component of the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. Pro-EE civil society organisations are actively involved in the implementation of EE policies in schools. The roles played by civil society organisations contribute to the trajectory of practical environmental…

South Africa's democratic transition was a time of optimism, with immense hopes pinned on the youth who would be educated to see themselves as equal citizens. It was also a time of pragmatic decision making, not least in the education sector, which would shape the future of the country. Negotiating the imperatives of redress, development, and…

This book, the seventeenth instalment in the 24-volume series "Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research," explores the interrelationship between ideology, the state and human rights education reforms, setting it in a global context. The book examines major human rights education reforms and policy issues in a global…

The changing societal context in South Africa (SA) has necessitated curriculum reform to deal with the challenges of education, from apartheid to democracy, with the aim of promoting active citizenship education. The aim of the paper is thus to illuminate to what extent the Grade 11 Life Orientation (LO) curriculum prepares learners for active…

The article defends ubuntu against the assault by Enslin and Horsthemke ("Comp Educ" 40(4):545-558, 2004). It challenges claims that the Africanist/Afrocentrist project, in which the philosophy of ubuntu is central, faces numerous problems, involves substantial political, moral, epistemological and educational errors, and should…

In this article, I shall evaluate critically the democratic citizenship education project in South Africa to ascertain whether the patriotic sentiments expressed in the "Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy" (2001) are in conflict with the achievement of reconciliation and nation building (specifically peace and friendship) after…

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child includes children's right to participation in processes that affect them. In this article we caution that in order to give real content to participation, it is necessary to understand what participation is and to acknowledge the problematic nature of the concept. We then demonstrate, by…

Three important elements of a South African vision for high skills must be spreading skills improvements across the population in general, creating policy coherence and constructing new institutions. This article examines these issues through an investigation of the micro and small enterprise (MSE) sector and, in particular, through an analysis of…

Essays on literacy patterns and practices in South Africa include: "Literacy, Voter Education and Constructions of Citizenship in the Western Cape During the First Democratic National Elections in South Africa" (Mastin Prinsloo, Steven Robins); "Literacy, Knowledge, Gender, and Power in the Workplace on Three Farms in the Western…

These 15 papers share a common theme: seeking to promote literacy as a powerful tool for challenging existing inequalities and dependencies. "Powerful Literacies" (Jim Crowther et al.) is an introduction. Section 1 establishes the theoretical and policy frameworks that underpin the book and shows how literacy is situated in different…

This volume contains papers submitted to the 12th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES), held in Sofia and Nessebar, Bulgaria, in June 2014, and papers submitted to the 2nd International Partner Conference, organized by the International Research Centre 'Scientific Cooperation,' Rostov-on-Don,…