In the current South African society, characterised by typical neo-liberal market-driven priorities also forced upon the education sector, the search for quality education needs careful consideration. This search has taken a prominent focus in robust academic, public, political, and school governance debates in South Africa for the past 2 decades.…

In this article, we problematise the practice of appointing principals on the basis of comradeship instead of excellence, qualifications and competency. The appointment of principals in South Africa has, over the years, become politicised and unionised to the extent that it is contextualised within comradeship narratives, thereby negating the…

Trust and accountability are often positioned as opposites, the argument being that accountability is based on distrust and correction of identified deficiencies. Yet, trust is also important in order for accountability to lead to improvement; only when teachers and principals are open about the quality of their teaching and their school can there…

The key to sustained and equitable development in Latin America is high quality education for all. However, coalitions favoring quality reforms in education are usually weak because parents are dispersed, business is not interested, and much of the middle class has exited public education. In "Routes to Reform," Ben Ross Schneider…

In South Africa, progression refers to the elevation of a learner from one grade to the following grade (excluding grade R), in spite of the learner not having achieved all the promotion stipulations (DBE, 2012a). This article is embedded in a social justice theoretical framework that advocates for a just society through fairness, equal access to…

Early Childhood Development (ECD) policies are primary determinants in the provision of quality early childhood development outcomes. Healthy and safe environments play a critical role in enhancing children's care and development. This is even more critical for children living in marginalised communities to develop foundational knowledge and…

Drawing mainly on Lewin's 3-Phase Process of Change framework, in the study reported on here we explored the role of principals in facilitating curriculum reforms. A case study design within an interpretivist paradigm was employed to determine the experiences and perceptions of principals, school management teams (SMTs) and teachers of how…

Background: A large number of studies have established that reading for comprehension in South African schools is comparably poor relative to other Southern African states. Some of these studies confirm that learners' competency in reading in English is lacking when contextualised in a learning environment. Various systemic evaluations were…

In May 2023, the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was no longer a public health emergency of international concern. However, this declaration does not remove severe negative impacts COVID-19 had on the education sector. This paper sets an objective to determine the impact of COVID-19 and the responses thereto in school operations…

The aim of this study was to identify the influence of technology on the education systems of South Africa and Russia. The study has brought to light the importance of technology, and that it contributes to the increase of quality of education. The correct application of relevant technology in education can be used as valuable support to education…

The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the value of inducting and mentoring new practitioners in Early Childhood Education centres. Early Childhood Education centres are usually located in meaningful buildings. Centres care for more children than the family can provide for. They are usually divided into groups or classrooms of similarly aged…

In the shift to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERT&L) during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote assessment and feedback became a major source of discontent and challenge for students and staff. This paper is a reflection and analysis of assessment practices during ERT&L, and our theorisation of the possibilities for shifts towards…

Background: The Global Competitiveness report shows that the quality of primary education in South Africa ranks 132 out of 144 countries. Statistics released by the Department of Basic Education in South Africa reveal that the average mark for Grade 3 learners in the Annual National Assessment (ANA) was 35% for literacy and 28% for numeracy. Aim:…

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) has numerous benefits in medical curricula. In the extended curriculum programme (ECP) at a university in South Africa, remedial interventions, such as same year/level PAL, were implemented to improve academic success. This article focuses on the measures to ensure the quality of PAL as an intervention for the academic…

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for TVET actively supports Member States in strengthening and upgrading their technical and vocational education and training systems. This booklet provides up-to-date information on UNESCO-UNEVOC's capacity-building programmes and projects, key thematic areas, online knowledge resources and databases, and…