This qualitative study reports on the role of university lecturers in the well-being of undergraduate students. A sample of undergraduate student participants (n = 335) at a large, urban residential university in the Gauteng Province of South Africa participated in rapid, face-to-face interviews. Interviews were conducted by student fieldworkers…

Life Orientation (LO) teachers should be prepared to employ a pastoral approach -- i.e., emotional support to learners -- particularly when facilitating the topic "Development of the self in society" as prescribed in the curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS). Currently, LO teachers have limited knowledge and strategies to…

Intercultural competence (IC) development has been highlighted in academia as an essential educational outcome for all constituents. Over the last few decades, extensive research has been conducted regarding both the components of IC and how it is developed. Yet research is scant on the experiences of international graduate students regarding…

This article uses the findings obtained from a study that delves into the perceptions of students on their relationship with their higher education (HE) lecturers and how it affects their academic success, to respond to the issue of decolonisation in South African HE, and to approach the question of decolonising HE in Africa. The article argues…

Teachers are students' first contact in the classroom and the ones with whom they experience their relationships most intensely after those with their own classmates. Relationships with teachers and their actions in the classroom are of great relevance in how students develop their careers. Young people at risk of exclusion, which has been…

While there is a vast literature arguing that teacher talk in whole class discussions is a determinant of quality science teaching, teachers' understanding of enacting teacher talk is under-researched. Using teacher cognition as a theoretical lens, the purpose of this study was to explore how experienced and novice science teachers in South Africa…

Guided play, a balanced approach to involvement in play that includes child- and adult-direction in learning activities, holds great promise for children's effective and engaged learning in education. Recent studies in laboratory settings show benefits for academic and socio-emotional outcomes, while retaining a focus on child-centred exploration.…

The 2000s saw a change in South Africa's Department of Correctional Services' theorising about adult education's potential to shift incarcerated men's thinking about their future in a proactive way. The plan was to advance active citizenship in the incarcerated. As such, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) introduced holistic, integrated…

In this article we combine Boyer's 4 domains of scholarship with Hutchings' 4 types of questions and Ghaye, Melander-Wikman, Kisare, Chambers, Bergmark, Kostenius and Lillyman's (2008) reflective learning framework using a Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR) method to explore the perceived gap in in-service teachers'…

The South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 forbids discrimination against learners based on pregnancy, while the 2007 guideline document, "Measures for Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy," stipulates teachers' role in preventing and managing learner pregnancy. Teachers are, therefore, responsible for pregnant learners in the…

Herein the argument advanced is that excellent shepherd leadership practices serve as a condition necessary for affording South African university students easy access to the required book chapters instead of enduring the burden of having to buy the full books. In order to embellish this viewpoint, relevant data were collected through focus group…

Children and youth at risk, particularly those placed in child and youth care centres (CYCC) in South Africa, have suffered from school disengagement due to multiple barriers to learning such as the exposure to crime and violence at a young age. As children and youth at risk at these centres find it difficult to engage in learning, new approaches…

This paper is based on the exploration of township preschool teachers' perspectives of the act of caring. Caring has always been associated with women as they are seen as nurturers. Their role as mothers is regarded as a natural part of their being. This study explored preschool teachers' understanding of caring as well as its implementation.…

This study investigates the role of the e-tutor within an Open Distance Learning Higher Education institution in terms of perceptions of their work roles and the assessment of the competencies of the e-tutor. In the universities' strategic plan the importance of providing excellent service to learners is strongly emphasised. E-tutors are the…

The global pandemic of COVID-19 brought about the transition to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) at higher education institutions across the United States, prompting both students and the faculty to rapidly adjust to a different modality of teaching and learning. Other crises have induced disruptions to academic continuity (e.g., earthquakes,…