Teacher absenteeism is of concern in today's developing educational climate. In South Africa, where education itself is a contested terrain, and decades of disadvantage still impact resources and skills, despite democracy, it is a compelling challenge. This paper, based on a study of how independent primary schools in Gauteng, South Africa, manage…

This paper explores methodological insights from a mixed methods study that aims to understand how school leaders promote literacy development in their schools. The study findings consider both the complementarities and the challenges of the qualitative and quantitative approaches to measuring leadership practices and their linkages with learning…

Located within constructivist paradigm, this is a qualitative study that used a case study design. Qualitative data collection methods -- interviews, observations and document analysis -- were employed for this study. The sample comprised of 43 teachers and principals from four case study schools. This paper focuses on the experiences of primary…

Background: South African schooling is caught in a vicious cycle, characterised by weak initial teacher education (ITE) and weaker-than-average learning outcomes, resulting in low teacher status and attempts to reform schooling by means of continuous professional development (CPD). Aim: The paper attempts to understand the reasons for poor…

As we enter the last ten years leading to the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030, African countries are still plagued with poverty and underdevelopment. For most children in Africa, the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 will remain elusive. Drawing from two interrelated empirical studies, one focusing on…

This review provides a critical appraisal of Kubow and Min's paper. It teases out their conception of "liberalism" and argues that the classical notion of liberalism as a political theory that advocates individual liberty based on assumptions of the unencumbered autonomous individual has lost currency. This is because over the years…

Challenges and changes in the South African education system could have an impact on teachers' professional wellbeing, which, in turn, results in changes in teacher retention rates. The leadership of the school principal directly influences teachers' experience of professional wellbeing. Some research focuses on teacher wellbeing and plenty of…

The purpose of this article is to report on research in schools to determine the views of teachers regarding points of which principals should take into consideration during periods of change in their schools. The research, based on a post-positivist worldview, was quantitative in nature, with one qualitative section. Eight hundred and eighty four…

The purpose of this research was to explore how two rural primary teachers used technology to enhance their pedagogical and content knowledge of Geography in their everyday teaching and learning. Hence the theory of Koehler and Mishra's Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framed this research. Although the Intermediate Phase…

Despite South Africa's high spending in education compared to other sub-Saharan countries, its education system is often criticized as ineffective as evidenced by poor student outcomes in both national and international assessments. This educational inefficiency is often linked to poor teacher quality, particularly in mathematics and science where…

Background: Foundation phase teachers are not science specialists; however, they are expected to teach science. It is important that research determines where teachers face challenges in teaching science in order to assist them to bridge the gaps and to improve their competence in teaching science. Aim: The aim of this research was to explore…

Innovative service delivery approaches based on the trends and developments in education and psychology are required to address the scarcity of professional resources in developing countries such as South Africa. This article presents a description of a 21-month project in which five educational psychologists and 18 school-based teacher support…

Grade 1 learners in South Africa are not receiving the quality education they deserve. Early Childhood Education forms the basis of all education; however, numerous challenges in the South African education system impede the teaching and learning of young children. In this article we investigate Grade 1 teachers' responsibilities in the class and…

This article focuses on how male and female primary school teachers' account of the suitability of male teachers in early years or Foundation Phase (FP) of schooling. We draw from an in-depth qualitative interview-based study to examine how ideals around hegemonic masculinity have effects for the characterization of FP within traditional feminine…

Drawing on Dewey's concepts and thinking, a middle school mathematics teacher at The School at Columbia University describes her teaching practice and role as a field-based teacher-educator and professional development leader during EdTech Summit Africa. Through a first-person account of her experiences in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria,…