The absence of a shared understanding of quality education for South African schools prompted this study to apply the capability approach of Amartya Sen to investigate the productive qualities of teachers. The study outlines the significance of integrating teachers' perspectives into discussions surrounding quality education in South Africa. More…

Teachers collaborating with parents is an axiom of successful school programmes. The parents' role should be supportive and complementary to the teachers' pedagogical function. A functional or dysfunctional parent-teacher partnership is a predictor of children's success or failure in school. The functionality of parent-teacher partnerships is…

Background: In 2012, the South African government initiated the Integrated School Health Policy (ISHP) to serve as a national guideline on providing school health and support services from key stakeholders such as the Department of Health (DoH), Department of Basic Education (DBE) and Department of Social Development (DSD). However, despite the…

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…

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…

Background: Teachers are responsible for curriculum implementation and transformation. Therefore, they are viewed as the primary agents of change in teaching and learning. As agents of change, they are responsible for being innovative and creative in their teaching and learning in their English First Additional Language (EFAL) class. Objectives:…

Given that behavioral challenges contribute to learner exclusion in schools, there is a demand for behavior support strategies and practices that (a) extend beyond punitive measures, (b) aid the development of school customs and mores, (c) are based on nonviolence, and (d) promote positive self-discipline. This column explores behavior management…

The advent of a democratically-elected government in South Africa in 1994 disrupted the erstwhile synchrony between the schooling system, teacher education system, curriculum and pedagogy. Yet many South African teachers continue to express their teacher identities much like they did prior to 1994. The explanations posited for why this is the case…

Grade 1 learners in South Africa are not receiving the quality education they deserve. Early Childhood Education forms the basis of all education; however, numerous challenges in the South African education system impede the teaching and learning of young children. In this article we investigate Grade 1 teachers' responsibilities in the class and…

Drawing on Dewey's concepts and thinking, a middle school mathematics teacher at The School at Columbia University describes her teaching practice and role as a field-based teacher-educator and professional development leader during EdTech Summit Africa. Through a first-person account of her experiences in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria,…

This paper peers through the window to look at how a teacher brings about meaningful educational change in a diverse classroom. Utilizing three sets of arguments from the field of educational change, I traced educational change within a teacher during the course of an academic year. Data capture comprised a mix of semi-structured interviews and…

This research sought to develop an understanding of teachers' attitudes, sense of self-efficacy and approach to enacting inclusive education in their classrooms in two diverse countries. A mixed-methods research design guided the data collection and analysis. This article focuses on how quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used…

The international debate on colonisation is gaining momentum, primarily in the Americas, Africa and Australasia. Recent incidents in South Africa, such as the Fallist movement and the protest over rules on black girls' hair at certain schools, have sparked renewed debates on (de-)colonisation in the education system. It has become critical that…

This article looks at the development of mathematisation in a primary school mathematics teacher's classroom. The teacher was a volunteer in a professional development programme that promoted didactisation principles for mathematics teacher development. At the heart of didactisation lies the principle of mathematisation. Mathematisation as a…

This study identifies factors predicting reading literacy achievement among Grade 4 students in South Africa by utilizing Vygotsky's social interaction theory. The study draws on the preProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011 data, which places South African Grade 4 students' results below the international centre point of…