The aim of the study was to determine from teachers' unique perspectives, the types of adversities young South African children are exposed to. The sample consisted of 135 primary school, foundation phase teachers from six different provinces. The data were collected by using an adversity checklist which also included an open-ended question. An…

Background: Formative assessment has been reported to improve learners' learning in affluent contexts. However, very few studies have reported the impact of formative assessment on teachers' knowledge and understanding in no-fee public schools located in a low socioeconomic context. Aim: This article investigates the impact of the Assessment for…

Background: Although one of the most significant educational goals is to teach learners to comprehend written texts, the Global Education Monitoring Report (UNESCO 2021) identified that many children and adolescents have not acquired the minimum proficiency in reading even at the end of their secondary school career. South African literacy rates…

Today's learner population is diverse and replete with situational, personal, emotional, and learning challenges that inevitably find their way into the mathematics classroom. This paper draws from a project intended to investigate issues of classroom practice in mathematics used, extrapolate, or improve on them for the better development of…

Resilience-promoting interventions, such as the Read-me-to-Resilience intervention strategy, that consists of culturally relevant indigenous stories has been shown to encourage resilience in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) orphans. In this study, educator participants reflected on the protective systems that the Read-me-to-Resilience…

Background: Despite large-scale interventions aimed at developing literacy skills, children's reading competence levels in South Africa continue to remain an area of concern. In addition, the need to prepare learners for the increased demands of a fast-changing world of learning and working is gaining attention in educational policy and practice.…

In the research reported on here we explored educators' experiences of learners' social functioning in middle childhood in a South African context. Educators are important socialisation agents for learners in middle childhood, and we reasoned that they could offer valuable information to identify those key social skills and competencies that…

This study explored the mathematics teacher identity (MTI) of three purposefully selected grade 6 non-specialist primary school mathematics teachers. The participants' subject matter knowledge and didactical skills were explored by means of semi-structured interviews, lesson observations, and document analysis of lesson plans. The data were…

Inclusive education is a contested domain with positions ranging from strident opposition through cautious support to strong advocacy. Some stakeholders have taken a middle-of-the-road position because while they endorse the human rights discourse that makes inclusion a global imperative, they are caught up in a dilemma between their aspirations…

In South Africa, the issue of learning to read is an area of concern. While studies have focused on reading problems in the Foundation Phase, little is known about this issue in full-service schools. In light of this, the aim of this study was to explore how Grade 3 teachers supported learners who experienced reading problems in full-service…

In most of the countries that signed the Salamanca Statement, there seems to be a gap between policy formulations and realisations of inclusive education. Much of this gap has been blamed on the deficit or narrow view to inclusive education that focuses only on the education for disabled students, against the broader view of inclusive education,…

Students' challenging behavior is impacting negatively on teachers' wellbeing worldwide. Currently, teaching for some teachers in South African primary schools has become exhausting and daunting to say the least. Teachers feel that they have had enough degradation and are not receiving the respect they, as professionals, deserve. Students'…

With this article, we investigate how primary school teachers create enabling environments to accommodate diversity in their classrooms. In the study reported on here, we used the qualitative research approach and a case study research design was adopted. Five primary school teachers were recruited through purposive sampling to participate in the…

This study used a modified mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) framework to compare the "common content knowledge" (CCK) of two groups of purposively selected pre-service primary mathematics teachers (n = 86) in relation to spatial visualization. Specifically, thirty-five pre-service teachers (n[subscript 1] = 35) with a pure…

Background: Research argues that parents/teachers and learners work collaboratively and this active participation in scaffolded activities builds knowledge and extends understandings. However, researchers who have explored scaffolding as a pedagogic tool do not demonstrate how this tool looks in practice. Objectives: As a teacher educator, I…