Search

AbstractThe investigation reported in this paper centred on the socially relevant question of whether a number of countries in Southern Africa, particularly their education systems, had not only succeeded to shrug off their pre-independent past and heritage, but also whether they have made significant strides in terms of the education reform that form part of their broad socio-political restructuring. After having stipulated a number of input, throughput and output criteria, the researchers examined a purposive sample of eight systems. Their educational initiatives during the past fifty years were surveyed. These include expansion of education supply, examination reforms, curriculum reforms, teaching methods, higher education, vocational education, higher education expansion and the eradication of adult illiteracy. The researchers found evidence of improvement in the systems through the greater availability of education but not so much of improvement in the quality of the education systems in question. The paper ends with a number of recommendations for addressing shortcomings in this regard.

AbstractA typology of student teachers’ sources of inspiration in the form of a two-tiered theoretical framework formed the foundation of a questionnaire administered to student teachers in three different countries. The results of this study show that inspiration amounts to a student teacher being driven, enthused, guided, motivated and self-directed by sources towards the attainment of a goal, in this case to become and remain a professional teacher. Although scholars have a good comprehension of what inspires teachers for their profession, there seems to be a facet of this phenomenon that is not yet fully fathomed. This is confirmed in this study, by the fact that the typology regarding teacher inspiration succeeded only in explaining 55.79% of the variance in the data pool.

AbstractAcademics and/or scholars increasingly feel that their academic voice (combined or individual) has been squelched by the demands of performativity in its various guises, and resultantly, that they have been caught up in a process of steady disempowerment. Rather, it should be their right to be free to use their positions in the pursuit of scholarship as their conscience and their expert knowledge of their subject dictate. Academics should be free to question for themselves the boundaries of their limitations, and not have these imposed on them by the state or government bureaucracy. In order to help empower academics to regain their academic voice and identity, this article transposes six of the philosophical ideas of Belgian philosopher Rudi Visker to the world of academia. It explores the possibilities of using these ideas as instruments for the promotion and maintenance of academic freedom.