This paper will re-visit the origins and early use in South African curriculum writing of the concept of 'coherence'; it will go on to show how Suellen Shay and her colleagues fleshed out the concept and created an instrument for its empirical analysis; it will then step back and examine the contribution and some problems that were brought to…

Purpose: This research aims to investigate the use of conversational artificial intelligence (CAI) in academic practice through the lens of activity theory, which emphasises the mediation of human actions by tools within a social context. Additionally, it seeks to determine if and how the results of qualitative analysis differ when using…

This study pursues a twofold objective: first, to assess Physical Science teachers' knowledge in teaching at science centers, and second, to investigate their perceptions of their roles in facilitating teaching within these centers. Employing a qualitative case study method with interviews and observations, eight teachers voluntarily participated.…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are under pressure to internationalize their campuses through increasing study abroad offerings and international student recruitment. The internationalization of higher education (HE) however, has mostly been theorized from a Euro-American perspective, often not taking into account actors in periphery…

In this article I focus on an initiative to determine how a group of 7 purposefully recruited Grade 10 in-service life orientation teachers in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda district of the North West province conceptualise socio-environmental issues and aim to determine whether their teaching-learning practices are aligned with the expectations of the…

This study aims to examine the research published in the Web of Science database on Curriculum Alignment using the bibliometric analysis method. A bibliometric analysis of the studies included in the research was conducted on August 10, 2023. The "Web of Science Core Collection" was searched by entering the keyword "Curriculum…

The present study explores the validity of inferences that may be drawn from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) learner achievement data by measuring the South African curriculum-TIMSS alignment for the Grade 8 science assessments from 2007 to 2019. The Singapore curriculum--TIMSS alignment indices are a fair…

Background: This article critically examines the nature of isiXhosa translations in mathematics learning materials, specifically focusing on the doubling and halving unit within the 'South African Grade 3 Mental Starters Assessment Project (MSAP): Teacher Guide'. Teaching in home languages is encouraged in the Foundation Phase, but unfamiliar…

South African higher education (HE) cannot be compared to any other country's HE systems due to the unique political landscape and structural narrative that it has undergone. Subsequent to the reorganisation of HEIs in 2004, a number of complexities arose. These included accessibility to education across race and the alignment of the South African…

Technology as a school subject has extensive entrepreneurship potential, especially when combined with the practical production aspects that form part of the intended curriculum. The South African Senior Phase Technology curriculum is silent on the topic of entrepreneurship and as a result, this potential is not reaching learners in a country with…

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…

Research has shown that written feedback is important for student learning and development. However, the messages embedded in feedback may lead to students being misled about what they need to learn or how they need to develop. This article reports on a small-scale investigation into the messages embedded in feedback. Legitimation Code Theory was…

Research on teacher professional development generally states that teachers do not take new innovations on board easily. The study reported on here focused on the uptake of a curriculum tracker tool designed to improve curriculum coverage by mathematics teachers. The tool formed part of the Jika iMfundo (JiM) programme launched by the…

The South African Department of Education has attributed the poor pass rates in Grade 12 Physical Sciences to the learners' lack of practical work and the inability of learners to solve problems by integrating their knowledge from different topics in Physical Sciences. A possible reason for this could be a disjointed alignment between the…

Attainment of competency is crucial for civil engineering students to solve socio-economic and environmental challenges and contribute to the development of a sustainable society by using engineering principles. Consequently, competency has become the measure of engineering graduates for which deep learning is essential. Constructive alignment has…