Having incorporated a digital aspect to our academic literacy course, and having monitored this over the last three years, we have come to believe that online mentoring can serve as an essential form of tutoring and mentoring. Our study is located in the field of New Literacy Studies and examines the affordances of a digital space in a first year…

A key concern today is the question of homework in our nation's public schools. In this study, an investigation was conducted with the first no-homework policy, which has been introduced in one of the primary schools in the Western Cape. This study seeks to determine whether a no-homework policy will validate a positive or negative effect on…

From a practice point of view it seems as if there are certain factors that might contribute to the fact that emerging adults tend to negate therapeutic help and services. It also seems to be specifically true with regard to emerging adults at university. Help negation seems to occur albeit the fact that therapeutic intervention is seen as an…

Purpose: This study aims to examine six South African universities with a particular focus on the quality of teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study approach was adopted and data were mainly generated by means of open-ended questionnaires. The questionnaire was circulated to approximately 1,800 students and 746…

Learning outcomes are essential to any curriculum in education, where they need to be clear, observable and measurable. However, some academics structure learning outcomes in a way that does not promote student learning. The purpose of this article is to present the analyses of learning outcomes of an Electrical Engineering curriculum offered at a…

Mathematical literacy (ML) is a compulsory subject in South Africa for those learners who choose not to do mathematics to Grade 12 level. ML is designed to enable a learner to become a self-managing person by providing opportunities to analyse and solve real-life problems through the mathematisation of contextual situations. The subject thus lends…

A qualitative case study was conducted at six purposively sampled universities; out of a population of approximately 23 universities. This sampling strategy was based on selecting some universities that became Universities of Technology during the process of merging Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) while other universities kept their identity;…

Note-taking is one of the more common and ever-present learning activities that form an important part of all students' daily lives. The potential of using technology to enhance note-taking activities has recently come under the spotlight. However, while mobile technologies may be applauded for their mobility and the value they can add to…

In this multi-case qualitative study the degree to which school-based decision-making (SBDM) is understood and conceptualised by the members of school governing bodies (SGBs)--educators, chairpersons of SGBs, principals, and learner representative councils-as well the extent to which decisions were shared among the various groups represented on…

The Periodic Table of Elements is central to the study of modern Physics and Chemistry. It is however, considered by teachers as difficult to teach. This paper reports on a case study exploring reflections on teaching periodic table concepts in five secondary schools from South Africa. Qualitative methodology of interviews and document analysis…

This study assessed the competencies expected of doctoral graduates. Twelve purposefully sampled education experts provided the data. A case study design within a qualitative approach was adopted. Data were gathered through interviews and thematically analysed. Member checking ensured data trustworthiness. Factors affecting the quality of a…

The purpose of this case study is to explore the integration of technology into teaching at a mathematics department at a large South African University. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from staff teaching undergraduate mathematics. The study shows that many staff members feel that chalkboards are still more suitable than…

The study in this paper reports on whether an online homework system in combination with a flipped classroom has a positive effect on success rates of first year statistics students. Departing from a traditional teaching model (Baseline), the technology-based intervention strategies implemented were firstly the Aplia™ interactive online homework…

This article reports on the value of career construction counselling (integrating qualitative and quantitative strategies and associated techniques) for a young person. The participant was purposefully selected from a number of people who had sought career counselling in a private practice context. An intrinsic, single-case study design was…

This paper presents one aspect of a larger scale doctoral study, namely the teachers' experiences of technology-based teaching and learning in the Foundation Phase. Technology is a huge driver of change and South African education has to change regularly to meet the requirements set out by the Department of Education, including the development of…