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In this article I survey educational research conducted in South Africa based on articles published in the "South African Journal of Education" ("SAJHE") over the past five years. The themes that feature prominently in "SAJHE" over the past five years are: "Africanisation and indigenous knowledge," "assessment," "e-learning," "quality and quality assurance," and "student and staff diversity." I suggest that these themes reflect challenges facing South African higher education associated with two sets of pressures: the demands of a competitive and interconnected global economy and the need to democratize higher education in SA given inequalities of the past. I also survey the approaches to educational research that is reported in "SAJHE"--in other words, how the research studies are framed methodologically. The findings show that 58 per cent of the research reported in SAJHE over the past five years comprises theoretical research and 42 per cent empirical research. I contend that this trend might be ascribed to the nature of the five themes which feature most prominently in the journal over the past five years. (Contains 3 tables.)