Mapping the knowledge formations of language teachers within their pedagogic practices is underresearched, particularly for subject English, a multi-faceted, elusively defined discipline. Deeper knowledge of the pedagogy of subject English teachers is critical, especially within South African education, given the socio-economic power of English in…

Twenty years after South Africa's democratisation, Nelson Mandela's passing has prompted scholars to examine his legacy in various domains. Here we take a look at his legacy in education discourse. Tracing Mandela's thoughts and pronouncements on education we find two major emphases: a view of education as a practical means to economic…

The role of knowledge in the current knowledge economy cannot be overly emphasised. Successful regions are continuously being linked to excellence in the production, accumulation, and application of knowledge. Universities have increasingly been at the centre of such knowledge production, application and transfer. Yet, there is little research and…

Following the challenges faced in the selection and implementation of e-assessment tools for student assessment, I undertook a journey of implementing an e-assessment system within the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). This article describes the path traversed and highlights the potholes and expressways on this road towards e-assessment…

Substance use amongst learners in South Africa has become a significant problem, with relationships between educators and learners being seriously challenged. Educators are often in a position to notice changes in the behaviour of learners and are able to provide support and assistance. A phenomenological, explorative study was undertaken and…

The effects of overcrowded classrooms are far-reaching for teachers and learners. Many parents base their decision on whether to send their child to a particular school on the prospective number of learners in the child's classroom (Mustafa, Mahmoud, Assaf, Al-Hamadi & Abdulhamid, 2014:178). All teacher training institutions ought to ascertain…

The continued use of corporal punishment in some South African schools and the reasons advanced for it make this subject topical even now, twenty years after the abolition of this practice. Corporal punishment is a worrying issue among human rights activists and scholars. This paper reports on contestations and paradoxes regarding the use of…

An unacceptable number of learners in under-resourced schools in South Africa are failing to perform adequately in national and international benchmark tests. Poor learner performance has been linked to poor-quality teaching, which, in turn, can be attributed in part to a lack of instructional leadership at schools. According to policy, heads of…

The Khanya Maths and Science Club (KMSC) is an afterschool science/maths enrichment programme for learners in Grades 7-12 supported by postgraduate students and academic staff volunteers. This research seeks to explore the relationship between participating learners' attitude toward learning science and the characteristics of this afterschool…

Purpose: To investigate how an adventure-based activity could help facilitate dialogue and enable a safe process where students could engage in a difficult topic such as diversity without feeling threatened. Method: A qualitative study was used in which 89 social work students who took part in diversity training gave permission that their…

This study is part of ongoing research in undergraduate mathematics education. The study was guided by the belief that understanding the mental constructions the pre-service teachers make when learning matrix algebra concepts leads to improved instructional methods. In this preliminary study the data was collected from 85 pre-service teachers…

In order to identify specific, shared sources of meaning and mechanisms with which individuals attempt to make meaning, the objectives of this study were to explore the way in which secondary school teachers perceive, conceptualise and attain meaning in their work. A qualitative design with a phenomenological strategy was used with a convenience…

This paper examines the initial steps of an internationally funded project focused on enhancing teachers' conceptual and pedagogical knowledge of literacy development in the Western Cape of South Africa. We asked what are the tensions and breakthroughs when engaged in international teacher professional development? Four lines of inquiry support…

Science teaching and learning require knowledge about how learning takes place (cognition) and how learners interact with their surroundings (affective and sociocultural factors). The study reported on focussed on learning for understanding of Newton's second law of motion from a cognitive perspective that takes social factors into account. A…

A vital facet that adds value to schools is the partnership between the departments of education and health at national level. At the heart of making this partnership effective in order to achieve its potential is the need for synchronisation of the roles of school nurses and teachers to mitigate sustainability risks. In order to investigate the…