Academic motivation enables students to face challenges in their studies and is important for student performance. Academic self-concept refers to students' perceptions of their competencies and ability to learn. The goal of the study was to evaluate academic motivation and self-concept of undergraduate optometry students. We used a mixed methods…

This study employs an Afro-centric framework of Digital "Unhu" (i.e. digital humanism) and netnographic accounts of supervisor-supervisee interactions to investigate Mobile Instant Messaging mediated interaction as a platform for honing students' career management competencies. While many existing studies foreground Western…

This study examines factors affecting teachers' motivation at secondary schools in the Elliotdale Circuit. The research approach adopted was qualitative. The design used was a case study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample size of twenty-two (22) respondents, which comprised principals, teachers, subject advisors and…

This paper examines three interrelated factors outside of formal provision of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in sub-Saharan Africa that have undermined TVET systems. The first is the process, pace, and levels of industrialisation, which has had a direct effect on TVET provision: low numbers of well-paying jobs requiring…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the levels of the job satisfaction of teachers at historically disadvantaged secondary schools and to determine the correlation effects among job satisfaction dimensions as they relate to these teachers. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey design using Spector's Job Satisfaction…

Textbooks socialise and legitimise cultural norms, and therefore, learners' social worlds should find expression in their textbooks. In the study reported on here we examined how Grade 4 English First Additional Language and life skills textbooks reflected learner diversity in South African schools as manifested in their racial, gender,…

The Bantu Education system, which replaced missionary-run black schooling in the mid-1950s, expanded schooling to accommodate the basic economic needs of the South African economy but it was done as cheaply as possible. The state paid teachers' salaries and in return it expected obedience and conformity from its employees. It was a tight-fisted,…

Zimbabwean teachers constitute the largest group of migrant teachers in South Africa (Department of Higher Education & Training (DHET), 2013). The main reason South Africa welcomes migrant teachers is to ease the country's own teacher shortage. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore Zimbabwean teachers' motives for migration to…

The purpose of this article is to assess the course content relevance in contributing to wage- or self-employment of adult non-formal education and training (NFET) in the context of South Africa. The concern that informed this article is that adults who face long-term unemployment due to a lack of marketable skills remain unemployed after…

During the apartheid years in South Africa, career guidance amongst disadvantaged learners was largely absent and, for many, career choices were limited and governed by politics. Despite South Africa having celebrated 20 years of democracy, this situation has improved only slightly. Therefore, the aims of the study were to determine the factors…

Education is seen to play a crucial role in the reconstruction of post-conflict countries, particularly in transforming people's mindsets and rebuilding social relations. In this regard, teachers are often perceived as key agents to bring about this transformative change through their role as agents of peace. This paper seeks to understand how…

This article compares key features of the labour markets for teachers across Botswana and South Africa in order to seek possible explanations for the apparently larger teacher shortages in South Africa. It is argued that South African teachers earn relatively lower wages when compared to professionals with comparable qualifications; they have also…

Educational policy and practice has resided and continues to reside at the vortex of social and political strife in South Africa, as in the United States. Although school poverty and inequities among schools in the U.S. pale in comparison to conditions in South Africa, the two nations have much in common, including histories of state-sanctioned…

Children's adaptive preference and capabilities are considered in relation to literature on children's voice, agency and adult adaptation. Data collected for projects on gender and schooling in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria are analysed to show how adaptation and distinctions between absolute and relative poverty are helpful in…

South Africa presents a distinctive and varied context in which to explore the experience of women principals. The article draws on a larger data set to explore the interplay of gender and school size in seven schools with 200 students or fewer. From this study, we conclude that gender remains a potent influence on the career and experience of…