Violence in South African schools has various negative effects on learners. These effects include loss of concentration, poor academic performance, playing truant, and depression. School violence also affects the psychological well-being of learners, leading to absenteeism and difficulty in paying attention in class. Furthermore, school violence…

Teachers face numerous challenges in their efforts to be pedagogically responsive to students' different learning needs. I extend scholarship in the field by exploring the potential of implementing a nuanced, collaborative intervention strategy called knotworking to facilitate teachers' ongoing professional development (PD). The heuristic of…

Students' challenging classroom behaviour remains problematic in some primary schools, causing daily disruptions. In South Africa, alternatives for managing student behaviour have proven ineffective, leaving teachers to grapple in classrooms. To gain insights into "what teachers are doing to curtail the problem," fifteen teachers were…

Background: Autism spectrum disorder is one of the most common disabilities in schools, with up to 50% of such children displaying behaviours that challenge, bringing about demanding teaching circumstances and a negative impact on educators' well-being. Strength-based interventions has not formally been used in autistic classrooms in South Africa…

Given that behavioral challenges contribute to learner exclusion in schools, there is a demand for behavior support strategies and practices that (a) extend beyond punitive measures, (b) aid the development of school customs and mores, (c) are based on nonviolence, and (d) promote positive self-discipline. This column explores behavior management…

The present world is in a moral crisis and it seems as though educational institutions experience both challenges and enormous behavioural problems. Statistics prove that there is a drastic decline in morals, values, standards, ethics, character and behaviour and schools, where colleges and even universities seem to indulge in crisis after crisis.…

Parental involvement is germane and crucial to a child's well-being and development in later life. Involvement is subjective in nature and difficult to evaluate. The family is the primary cell of society where the child's upbringing commences at birth. This study focuses on the parental role in managing learner discipline with the aim of improving…

This paper advocates an integrated approach to transition programmes at South Africa's higher education institutions through drawing on the US literature on the first-year student experience and specific reference to behavioural interaction theory. The case for developing intentional and vertically integrated transition programmes is tied to: the…

Based on a single-group one-year long evaluation study with 1,625 gifted children aged from 225 schools in 15 cities, this article examines whether participation in a spiritual education program increases their emotional intelligence. Results showed that gifted children's emotional intelligence scores were higher post--spiritual education program…

Behavioural problems are commonly experienced in schools. This contributes to poor academic results and general disciplinary problems, among other things. It is argued that punitive disciplinary methods are aggravating unacceptable behaviours. This paper presents information about the use of punishment, how children react to these measures, and…

In keeping with the national mandate of increasing graduates in the sciences in South Africa, a concerted effort in improving the first year experience becomes imperative. First year mathematics courses commonly provide the base knowledge necessary for progression in different degree programmes at university. Success in mathematics courses…

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…

Sexuality education forms part of the national school curricula of most sub-Saharan African countries, yet risk-related sexual behaviour among young people continues to fuel the HIV pandemic in this part of the world. One of the arguments put forward to explain why sexuality education seems to have had little impact on sexual risk-taking is that…

Conflict management has become an integral part of a headmaster's tasks. Headmasters are not required to suppress or resolve conflict, but to manage it. Since 1976, conflict in black schools has increased, and headmasters have had to manage serious and dangerous situations. Unfortunately, there has been little research in conflict management in…

How do we educate for peace in a context of pervasive social violence? This paper explores this question as it presents the development and evaluation of a South African peace education programme at pre-school level. The programme comprised a pre-school curriculum and a teacher development course and was developed in conjunction with a team of…