South Africa has had a number of curriculum reforms since 1994 which have been based on both political and education grounds. However, there is a dearth of knowledge about the nature of the envisioned graduates, especially with respect to social challenges. This can be addressed by exploring the curriculum ideology which outlines the vision of…

Pre-service teachers enter initial teacher education programmes with conceptions of teaching gleaned from their own schooling. These conceptions, which include teachers' beliefs, may be resistant to change, which is a challenge in contexts where teacher educators hope that teachers will teach in ways different from their own schooling. Conceptions…

This article presents the attitude of lecturers towards the visually impaired students in one of the universities in the Limpopo Province. First, it is argued that the experience of a visual impairment by a student has a greater effect on the strategies and methodologies used for instruction than on the curricular content to which the student is…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of the possible training strategies that could be more fully implemented in the South African formal education system. The intention to migrate from teacher-centred to learner-centred instructions in higher education institutions and schools makes PBL a plausible option. Geography education students might be…

Disasters can strike at any time, at any place. The world is becoming increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters. From earthquakes to floods and famines, mankind is even more threatened by the forces of nature. The Theme of the 2006 to 2007 International Day for Disaster Reduction was "Disaster Risk Reduction begins at schools" and…

During the past two decades, higher education in South Africa has been affected drastically by transformation. An issue that has specifically been influenced is master's degrees. A significant increase in the demand for access to course work master's degrees has been experienced, while universities themselves have been confronted with a new…

Describes and analyzes a short teaching episode in a multilingual secondary mathematics classroom in South Africa where the teacher uses a participatory-inquiry approach. Argues that such an approach to teaching and learning mathematics creates dilemmas of mediation for teachers. (AIM)

Examines the steps taken to involve students and faculty in establishing a program of supplemental instruction at Border Technikon (South Africa), highlighting the ways student involvement has been maintained. Topics include training, funding considerations, effectiveness, student responses, and student achievement results. (LRW)

Operating Systems IV is a subject taught to fourth-year information technology learners at Technikon Natal, a tertiary educational institution in KwaZulu Natal (South Africa). During 1998, the need to introduce elements of flexibility in this course was identified. As a result, a virtual classroom was used as a communal resource base and a…

After determining the perceptions of postgraduate students at a distance education institution of the guidance they had experienced, a research project was launched to determine "lecturers'" views on supervision at the same institution. Data collection methods included focus groups, individual interviews and document analysis. Findings…

This booklet explores the nature of participation, representation and decision-making in school governance in South Africa based on a collective case-study of six schools in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) that was undertaken between 2002 and 2004. The different types of schools were compared by the following criteria: their interpretation of the…

A South African study of 29 college and university faculty in varying disciplines investigated differences and commonalities of two teaching strategies, collaborative and cooperative learning. Seven common problem areas emerged, and solutions are examined, including faculty development within the discipline, curriculum development, and…