Despite growing consensus regarding the value of inquiry-based teaching and learning, the implementation of such a pedagogical practice continues to be a challenge for many South African teachers, especially at rural schools. The research reported in this article concerns the interaction between Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers' beliefs about…

Research studies on financial management in South African public schools expands recurrent literature, most of which have largely pathologised school leadership and management, and rural schools in particular. This article instead draws from a qualitative case study of success, which examined how five novice principals in a rural setting went…

We explored types and qualities of microaggressions or subtle forms of discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people among teachers in South Africa. For data collection, we used in-depth interviews. Twenty-five Life Orientation teachers, nine men and 16 women, from both rural and urban schools throughout the Free…

The purpose of this research project was to understand how Cambourne's theory of social constructivism, particularly his four instructional principles, was applied to the teaching of writing in two rural multigrade Foundation Phase classrooms in the Western Cape. Multigrade schools account for 30% of all primary schools in South Africa, but in…

This study investigated the perceptions and experiences of rural school principals in South Africa of the role that parents in the school governing bodies (SGBs) play in improving school management and governance. The study reports on a literature review as well as on the empirical investigation, which was based on a qualitative research paradigm.…

South Africa has risen to the forefront of educational debates that claim schooling can promote social justice and social cohesion. By drawing on Freire's (1970) theory of critical pedagogy, this paper examines how South African teachers in rural and township schools encourage students to reflect critically upon their own lives and take action to…

In this article I explore two questions -- how does, Thatho, a transgendered life orientation teacher enact, resist and reproduce dominant understandings of gender and sexuality in terms of his own identity and practice; and what specific possibilities, challenges and resistances exist for a transgender educator in the rural. Using life-history…

In April 2008, an interactive information communication technology (ICT) network was established in Mpumalanga, South Africa. the network involved the implementation of SMART board interactive whiteboards (IWBs) and collaboration between a leading school and several disadvantaged schools. the main purpose of the Mpumalanga IWB project was to reach…

This paper describes the habitus and technological practices of a South African rural student in his first year at university. This student is one of five self-declared rural students, from a group of 23 first-years in four South African universities, whose access to, and use of, technologies in their learning and everyday lives was investigated…

A one-size-fits-all curriculum cannot address the issues faced by rural multigrade teachers and learners. In South Africa, despite government efforts to relieve adversity, poverty in rural areas is still rife and poor education still fails to lift people out of it (Joubert 2010). Equality is essential in ensuring that all South African children…

Technology integration is the process of overcoming different barriers that hinder efficient utilisation of learning technologies. The authors divide technology integration into two components based on technology's role in the integration process. In active integration, the technology integrates learning resources into a learning space, making it…

This article explores factors influencing values management and in particular the way in which teachers and principals perceive their role in the inculcation of democratic values and moral principles with a view to managing schools more effectively within a democratic dispensation. In a small scale qualitative study, it was found that educators…

Gender-based violence is a reality in many societies and is linked to the spread of HIV and AIDS. There have been numerous studies that have attempted to acquire an understanding of the breadth and depth of the issues around gender-based violence. However, one area that has received scant attention is the voices of women teachers. Thus, in this…

In this article, I hope to provide some novel insights into teacher resilience and poverty on the basis of ten-year long-term ethnographic participatory reflection and action data obtained from teachers (n?=?87) in rural (n?=?6) and urban (n?=?8) schools (n?=?14, high schools?=?4, primary schools?=?10) in three South African provinces. In…

This paper reports on the classroom languaging practices of a group of science teachers in rural and township schools in South Africa where the majority of learners learn through the medium of English, despite the fact that it is the home language of only a small minority; and learners' poor English proficiency frequently restricts their access to…