The focus of this paper is on the contestations and dilemmas emergent in the higher education curriculum in a context of increasing processes of unbundling, digitisation and marketisation. The paper explores the notion of contestation through the theoretical lens of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory. It points to illustrative examples of this…

Social constructivism is the dominant pedagogical theory endorsed in educational discourse today. This study set out to examine teaching and learning in Grade 11 business studies classrooms from a social constructivist perspective. The data were obtained through document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. While the…

This critical qualitative study focused on what are the factors that contribute to high learner performance at a public school in South Africa. Purposive sampling was used and the data was produced via interviews with the participants (the principal, ten teachers, five ex learners and two parents) as well as observations of various school…

This qualitative study located in a critical interpretivist paradigm focused on what are the factors that contribute to high learner performance at a public school in South Africa. The data was produced via interviews with the participants as well as observations of various school activities and documents. Artistic licence was used and the data…

The purpose of the study was to explore the role cultural diversity plays in a Full-Service School in Soshanguve by means of a wellness perspective lens. The phenomenon at hand was the way that cultural diversity influences role players within a Full-Service School. The study was underpinned by three theories, namely Hettler's Wellness Theory,…

Purpose: This article responds to the topic of 'postcolonial social science education' by exploring strategies for decolonizing the social science 'archive'. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes a decolonial-critical social science approach to explore the limit and test cases for decolonizing social science education, using two examples: a…

Teachers experience learner challenging behaviour in primary schools worldwide. In South Africa, learner behaviour is undermining teaching and learning and compromising safety in some primary schools. To understand teachers' experiences of learner challenging behaviour, a qualitative data-collection approach was applied. Data from 15 teachers from…

Learners who experience learning challenges are at risk of not accessing equitable education opportunities in South African schools. This is despite teacher education and system reform initiatives towards more inclusive education. To discover what constrains inclusive teaching, we conducted a qualitative study at four schools in a South African…

This article presents an attempt to examine my own service-learning practices through the use of the conceptual tools of Michel Foucault, in particular his notions of governmentality and power. The article views the development of service-learning in South Africa and our current practices as operating within a regime of truth, and it considers…

This chapter evaluates Dewey's thinking in relation to the theorization of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). It compares Dewey's concepts with ideas from social realism, Vygotsky, and cultural historical activity theory, illustrated by PLA research in South Africa.

General legislation as well as legislation specifically regulating education in South Africa is aimed at the protection and advancement of the best interests of children (learners). Developments in the school education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, which reached the shores of South Africa in March 2020, starkly underscored that not only the…

Environment and sustainability education processes are often oriented to change and transformation, and frequently involve the emergence of new forms of human activity. However, not much is known about how such change emerges from the learning process, or "how" it contributes to the development of transformative agency in community…

This paper outlines the use of a form of research intervention known as the Change Laboratory to illustrate how the processes of organisational change initiated at a secondary school can be applied to develop tools and practices to analyse and potentially re-make educational traditions in a bottom-up manner. In this regard it is shown how a…

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed South African historically disadvantaged institutions, that had not yet reached advanced levels of technology use in teaching and learning, to find immediate solutions to salvage the disrupted academic year. Interactions with students, which had predominantly been face-to-face, shifted to various online…

Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in South Africa has undergone major institutional, structural and curricular changes over the last fourteen years. Drawing on figurational sociology by Norbert Elias, the study worked within a qualitative research paradigm and used open-ended interviews to investigate lecturers' experiences of…