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This paper briefly examines the epistemic orientation of the Politics discipline in South Africa, and specifically in ‘formerly white universities’. The focus is to expose the disparity between this epistemic orientation and the South African locale that it finds itself in; that is, a locale whose history is different from its ‘imperial center’, yet is diagnosed and measured in accordance with instruments defined by this very same center. To break with the hegemony of this episteme, I suggest, not only is it essential to have Black thinkers take their place in the South African academic community, but to develop a more African-based curriculum that responds, adequately, to South African and Continental problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparing subject teachers for understanding and implementation of curriculum and Assessment policy statement in schools has become a concern in nations as a way to strive for excellence. Yet, there is a little known about the understanding of curriculum policy than its effectiveness in the school. This study explored teacher understanding of Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document implementation. The study employed a qualitative approach, utilizing a case study research design. The interpretivism paradigm was applied to gain an in-depth understanding secondary of teachers' perspectives on the implementation of the CAPS. The population of the research study consisted of 100 teachers in Capricorn District, and the sample of this study consisted of ten (10) teachers who were selected using a convenient sampling technique. Data was collected using individual, semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews, and was analyzed using thematic data analysis method. The study concluded that internal and external workshops could serve the purpose of implementing the CAPS document in the classroom. In addition, movable resources, for better implementation of the CAPS document in the classroom. Lastly, for researchers, these findings may help with further research on strategies to be implemented in schools to encourage constant use of the CAPS document. The unique contribution of this article to existing research on the classroom implementation of CAPS guidelines is to address the gap identified by ineffectiveness of the subject policy to the secondary teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, adolescents and young adults (ages 15-24) are at risk of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancies. Recently, the Department of Basic Education has revised its sexuality education content and teaching strategies (using scripted lessons plans) as part of its life orientation curriculum. This paper presents the methodology and baseline results from the evaluation of the scripted lesson plans and supporting activities. A rigorous cluster-level randomized design with random assignment of schools as clusters is used for the evaluation. Baseline results from grade 8 female and male learners and grade 10 female learners demonstrate that learners are at risk of HIV and early and unintended pregnancies. Multivariable analyses demonstrate that household-level food insecurity and living with an HIV-positive person are associated with sexual experience and pregnancy experience. Implications are discussed for strengthening the current life orientation program for future scale-up by the government of South Africa.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the business education curricula in South Africa in relation to social entrepreneurship and to ascertain pre-service teachers' perspectives of the reasons for social entrepreneurship not being included in these curricula as observed in classroom teaching practices. Design/methodology/approach: Through interpretivist inquiry, third-year pre-service teachers' (n=92) comments on online group blogs were analysed to clarify a range of meanings and understandings of their responses. Findings: Social entrepreneurship as a concept and as an ideal as well as certain fundamental concept is not adequately integrated in the business education curricula in secondary schools in South Africa. Furthermore, the schools where the pre-service teachers conducted their teaching practice were failing to integrate activities associated with social entrepreneurship in their business education curricula. Research limitations/implications: The study was limited to a single tertiary institution. Similar studies in both developing and developed contexts in schools could be initiated as a means of teaching social entrepreneurship for social justice as a subject efficaciously. Practical implications: The study recommends that social entrepreneurship should be implemented earlier in the secondary education system as a means of enhancing the social entrepreneurial capacities of school learners. Originality/value: This is the first study examining the secondary education curricula in a developing economy, such as South Africa, in relation to the absence of the emerging concept of social entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is based on a study that sought to understand the nature of the interaction between small-scale farmers and government in the Eastern Cape from a variety of different perspectives. The study involved a sample survey of farmers, and in-depth interviews with farmers, extension officers and other government staff, and leaders of farmer associations. This particular paper explores two themes that emerged in the course of the larger study: first, what is popularly known in South Africa and elsewhere as the "culture of dependency and entitlement", and second, the forms of support that government chooses to offer to small-scale farmers. The paper argues that government is stuck in a vicious cycle whereby it seeks to placate expectant small-scale farmers with material support, which it can most effectively do via problematic group projects; although generally ineffective, the practice has the effect of maintaining widespread demand for such support, even to the point that small-scale farmers form group projects for the sole purpose of attracting it. In seeking to compensate for the weaknesses of this approach, government has sought to introduce compensatory measures such as "strategic partnerships", sometimes with the ironic consequence that small-scale farmers no longer play a role in farming in "their" agricultural projects. The paper concludes that the government in the Eastern Cape needs to return to the basics of effective extension support aimed at supporting individual farmers; to the extent material support is still needed, it should no longer be given away for free. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critiques the barriers to transformation in South African universities since the beginning of the democratic dispensation in 1994. The critique is informed by the historical background of apartheid policies, which were instrumental in perpetuating the social-economic exclusion of black people in higher education institutions. Moreover, this paper demystifies the meaning of transformation in the context of higher education in South Africa. To this end, a review of scholarly peer-reviewed and non-scholarly articles was undertaken as a method of collecting relevant data. On the basis of reviewed literature, it is argued that transforming an institutional culture is not a once-off process but requires constant reinforcement of the desired behavioural practices. Similarly, the patriarchal social ideology that is instrumental in creating gender disparities needs to be removed or spurned. Furthermore, universities need to take proactive measures to rescind policies that create polarisation between black and white people. The article concludes that solutions to barriers that impede transformation processes in South African universities are not elusive, yet a well-articulated vision on transformation, as well as decisive and responsive leadership at universities, is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study carried out at a University of Technology, South Africa, aimed at identifying the existence of the mathematical knowledge gap and evaluating the intervention designed to bridge the knowledge gap amongst students studying first year mathematics at the Chemical Engineering Extended Curriculum Program (ECP). In this study, a pre-test was used as a diagnostic test to test incoming Chemical Engineering students, with the aim of identifying the mathematical knowledge gap, and to provide students with support in their starting level of mathematical knowledge and skills. After the diagnostic test, an intervention called the autumn school was organized to provide support to bridge the mathematical knowledge gap identified. A closed Facebook group served as a platform for providing student support after school hours. After the autumn school, a post-test was administered to measure whether there was an improvement in the knowledge gap. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of collecting data were used in this study. A pre-test was used to identify the mathematical knowledge gap, while a post-test was employed to measure whether there was a decrease in the knowledge gap after the intervention. Focus group interviews were carried out with the students to elicit their opinions on whether the intervention was of any help for them. Students' participation on Facebook in terms of student post, post comments and likes and an evaluation of students' academic performance in comparison to their Facebook individual participation was also conducted. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data was analysed using inductive strategy. Results showed that all the students in this study had the mathematical knowledge gap as no student in the class scored 50% on the overall pre-test. Findings further revealed that the intervention played a major role in alleviating the mathematical knowledge gap from some of the students (with 1/3 of the students scoring 50% and above in the post-test) and no positive correlation between students' academic performance on the post-test and students' participation in the Facebook group was noted. We hope that insights generated in this study will be of help to other institutions looking into designing interventions for bridging the knowledge gap. Reasons for lack of improvement in the knowledge gap of 2/3 of the students in this class will be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the sport management curricula adopted by the Rand Afrikaans University in South Africa. The literature that provided the frame- work and the local conditions that influenced the curriculum design are described. The differences between the curriculum models generally found in North America and the present model are noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two years, higher education institutions (HEI) have been inundated with students' demands for a decolonised education. Their voice led to the resuscitation of debates on a transformed curriculum. Amongst others, the language question is an issue at the centre of these debates. What students were questioning was the hegemony of English, the slow pace in which universities implement multilingual policies, and lack of clarity on the positioning of African languages as languages of learning and teaching. In this paper, we argue that if higher education aims to address marginalised and new knowledge through a decolonised curriculum, fundamental questions are worth being asked. In particular the questions we are asking and responding to are: "How does student voice become a force for social change?" "How can student voice enable HEIs to deal with the issue of language?" We suggest and support the view that the issue of language should be recognised as a social justice issue, that student voice can enlighten curriculum designers and society on the dangers of reproducing inequalities through the hegemony of English, and that graduate attributes, as an essential notion, should recognise multilingualism as a core skill that students should acquire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sought to investigate teachers' perspectives on how the teacher education curriculum could be transformed to be relevant for basic schooling and contribute to sustainable development. The objective was to understand the views of the university lecturers, teachers in schools and teacher trainees on the relevance of the curriculum offered at a university to the school curriculum. The school curriculum reform from the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) in South Africa (SA) brought about changes in the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and teaching approaches and teachers are obliged to keep up with these changes, understand the PCK and change their teaching approaches to fit the new curriculum. In addition, teacher trainees (university graduates) are expected to teach the same curriculum when allocated to schools for teaching practice. Based on this expectation, I argue that there seems to be an assumption that changes in the school curriculum find their way to the universities and influence the content of teacher education curriculum whereas this may not be the case. The teacher education curriculum does not focus on the content offered in schools but academic content and engages students in theories that would enable them to see the world differently. A qualitative interpretive approach to generate data through semi-structured interviews from teacher trainees, schoolteachers and university lecturers who were purposively selected was used. The approach was used in order to understand the views of the participants on how the teacher education curriculum could be transformed in order to be relevant to basic schooling. Findings revealed that the teacher education curriculum is not relevant for basic schooling in that teacher trainees are not exposed to the curriculum offered in schools; traditional teaching approaches are still used at the university whereas schools use outcomes- based approaches. As a result, teacher trainees find it difficult to navigate the system. The paper recommends that there is a need to transform the teacher education curriculum so that it becomes relevant and contributes to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South African teachers experience challenges with the implementation of the national school curriculum -- the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). In this regard, teachers may not feel empowered to effectively deal with the demands of the current educational policy. Concerns have been expressed about learners' poor performance in schools and the school infrastructure coupled with educational capacity emerged to be a possible contributing factor. In the study reported on here we focused on the challenges experienced by South African life sciences teachers in the implementation of CAPS caused by limited resources. The context of the study was secondary schools in 1 sub-district in the Northwest province that offered life sciences (LS) in Grades 10 to 12. A qualitative research approach was followed and 10 teachers from rural public schools who taught LS in Grades 10 to 12 during the period of this study were purposefully selected. For data generation, we used audio recordings from individual and focus-group interviews. The findings indicate that teachers' needs in terms of resources to effectively implement CAPS are often not catered for. It is recommended that adequate teaching and learning resources for effective implementation of CAPS should be provided. The Department of Education's prioritisation of teachers' needs will engender effective curriculum implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was motivated by the need to strategically implement changes propelled by the advent of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) to meet the increasing demand for theoretical skills required by industries for regional and global competitiveness through a university--industry partnership among South African universities. A total of 22 out of 26 South African Universities were purposefully selected for the study. A survey design was adopted in which a structured online interview was conducted with 70 out of 188 Deans/Executive Deans of faculties through the Microsoft Teams and Zoom platforms. The results show that most of the academic faculties had implemented the specific guidance provided by industry partners and relevant associations into the curriculum for teaching and learning at the faculty level. However, only 18% of the Deans/Executive Deans had the 4IR as a separate strategy formulated in their institutions, while about 30% of faculty Deans/Executive Deans had 4IR strategies integrated into the existing institutional strategy. Further findings reveal ed the unwillingness of the faculties of Engineering and the Built Environment and the faculty of science to embrace any form of institutional guidelines for responding to evolutionary change and for implementing the 4IR in their activities. They preferred to remain open to innovation and respond in the best way possible rather than being stiffened by organizational policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to the recent curriculum revisions in South Africa, namely the introduction of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). We argue, using the deliberationist perspective to curriculum development, that the attention on curriculum policy is misdirected and fails to sufficiently address one of the key problems facing schooling in South Africa today: that of the lack of teacher professionalism. We review both scholarly and popular literature to demonstrate the challenges of the education system as largely rooted in the historical apartheid construction of teachers, which positioned white teachers as professional while casting African teachers as mere technicians. We hold that current revisions to the curriculum seem to suggest that government has given up on the professional agenda of the post 1994 dispensation and seem to be making the curriculum ‘teacher proof’, thus making teachers more powerless and unimportant. We suggest that the focus should not solely be on the curriculum, but also on creating professional teachers. This means empowering teachers, addressing SACE, separating the role of teacher unions from government and attracting the best students for the teaching profession. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Formed in 2008, the Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance (SACIDS) is a One Health consortium of academic and research institutions involved with infectious diseases of humans and animals. Operating in partnership with world-renowned centres of research in industrialised countries, its mission is to harness innovations in science and technology for improving southern Africa's capacity to detect, identify, monitor (DIM) and manage the risk posed by infectious diseases of humans, animals, and ecosystems. The consortium's major capacity development activities include a series of One Health-based Master of Science (MSc) courses and a five-year DIM-driven research program. Additionally, SACIDS organized Africa's first One Health conference, in July 2011. This paper describes these and other major activities that SACIDS has undertaken to improve infectious disease surveillance across southern Africa. The paper also describes the role and collaboration of SACIDS with other national, regional and international consortia/networks that share a vision and interest in promoting novel approaches to infectious disease surveillance and outbreak response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South African schools have been found to be homophobic. Teachers can play an important role in offering a critique of homophobia grounded in South Africa's legal claim to equality on the basis of sexual orientation. Currently there is a dearth of educational research about how teachers understand and address homophobia. By drawing upon focus-group interviews with teachers based at five schools, this paper shows dominant teaching views which contribute to homophobia, although this is not the only view. Informed by theoretical framings that seek to uncover heterosexual domination, the analysis shows three interrelated discursive constructions through which homophobia is both produced and resisted by teachers. Silencing homosexuality, denying its existence in the curriculum, and religious prohibitions were found to be dominant. It must be understood however that teachers are working in a context without any intervention and support. Their views also show potential for working against the climate of homophobia. Recommendations for such work are indicated in the conclusion of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how students' resources can be drawn on in curriculum design in tertiary education to develop a pedagogy of diversity. It asks what kinds of resources are privileged through existing academic practices, and how certain traditionally unused resources can be included in teaching, learning and meaning-making. With reference to a case study in engineering in South Africa, an argument is made for a 'reciprocal curriculum', an exchange of cultural practices and not just bridges to established norms. In this conception of curriculum, students' practices and resources can be utilised, whilst the discourses and knowledge of the discipline can also be made accessible. The parameters of 'science' and scientific discourse are explored by analysing students' texts from a multimodal social semiotic perspective. The paper ends by proposing that students' resources be harnessed through using metalanguages to describe and reflect on their own practices as well as on academic practices, and the need to create less regulated spaces in the curriculum in order to enable this reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates how well South African minimum standards for social work education, known as Exit Level Outcomes, are aligned to a social development paradigm. Developmental social work is a relatively new approach in social work education internationally, and this article can therefore provide lessons for other countries using this paradigm in an education model based on national minimum standards. The complexities and difficulties of using a minimum standards approach in education are discussed and the policy context for the development of these standards in South Africa is explained. The use of a social development framework for the analysis is motivated in relation to its relevance to the social context. Nine criteria for a social development perspective were drawn from the literature to form an analytical framework. A content analysis using this framework was done on the minimum standards. The results show that the minimum standards are generally aligned with social development principles that drive national priorities, but a few significant gaps exist, which are outlined and discussed. This article attempts to grapple with the complexities of using these minimum standards to drive both curricula related and extra curricula activities in social work education in South Africa [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the discourses that students draw on and propagate in a course on rural development in a first-year engineering foundation programme. It looks at the way 'rural' is often constructed as 'lack' and therefore 'other', the dangers of constructing development as linear, the ways nostalgia and utopianism feed into discourses of development and how 'propriety' serves to maintain boundaries between nature and people, society and individuals. Different modes and media, coupled with the degree of regulation in the classroom, may enable alternate discourses to emerge or to be suppressed. This paper argues that the curriculum needs to engage with students' views in order to understand, interrogate and critique the kinds of realities they feed into. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural literacy is considered as crucial in the process of redress, and of equal recognition, affirmation and nurturing of different cultural symbols and other forms of expression within South Africa. In this paper we reflect conceptually on what the new curriculum policy in Arts and Culture education proposes with regard to acknowledging and promoting an understanding of multiculturalism and cultural diversity, and their development at classroom level. We argue that for the policy ideals to be realised, teaching and learning have to be informed by a conception of culture that underscores cultural critique. In conclusion, the paper highlights the practical implications of such critique for teaching Arts and Culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low teacher morale, coupled with extremely poor schooling outcomes for students as measured on standardized tests have increasingly been reported in the media in South Africa. As elsewhere, there is growing demand for the reorganisation of teachers' work in order to enhance school performance. The paper investigates the ways in which current market-led government policies have sustained past inequalities between schools and between teachers. Drawing on Savage's notion of assets, the analysis focuses on how the material and organisational conditions of teachers' work combine to affect teachers' morale. The analysis is based on available sets of data on inequalities - at the societal level, at the level of the homes and communities of the children that attend school, at the level of schooling system and at the level of teachers. It proposes a conceptual typology in relation to the four levels of data we provide, which shows interesting differential effects on teachers' morale and the transformation of teachers' work in South Africa. We argue that the relations between enduring economic inequalities in South Africa, an underspecified new curriculum and the bureaucratization of teachers' work have created an intractable pattern of accumulation of educational disparity among teachers in South Africa. Teacher morale needs to be considered in the context of these structural conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study that investigated whether district continued professional development (CPD) sufficiently prepared teachers for their classroom practice. Analysis of CPD models used with primary-school natural science teachers in a district in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa was conducted. Findings indicated that the district CPD models used with the teachers did not address the various challenges and complexities within the district and therefore created several challenges that negatively impacted on the success of the new curriculum reforms. It is argued that successful CPD models should address both the internal and external factors that influence individuals' understanding of new reforms and their social practice. Thus, it is proposed that each district should develop a context-based CPD model that captures and addresses issues that are likely to impact teacher learning and classroom practice in their particular context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on data derived from two socially contrasting primary schools in Durban, this paper focuses on how gender and sexuality feature in the teaching and discussion of HIV/AIDS. A detailed analysis of two 'life-skills' lessons in the two schools shows that, despite the social differences between the schools, discussions of gender and sexuality remain muted. Discourses of childhood innocence make it difficult for teachers to provide comprehensive knowledge of sex, sexuality and gender in the primary school 'life-skills' lessons. Implications for teacher training are suggested briefly in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The argument of this paper is that the use of distance education methods is essential for the provision of all teacher education in South Africa - not just an option for a few programmes in one or two institutions. For this reason, the challenges of distance teacher education are the major challenges for achieving the goal set out in the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development: 'more teachers, better teachers'. Challenges include increasing the flexibility and location of current teacher education programmes in order to attract and support a more diverse teacher target audience, designing courses to nurture dialogue and integrate learner support, and moving beyond surface change in response to criticism. Finally, although external quality assurance processes are critical in creating a shared understanding of quality standards and the need for change, quality assessment needs to be followed up with support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is common to find final or near final year undergraduate Information Technology students undertaking a substantial development project; a project where the students have the opportunity to be fully involved in the analysis, design, and development of an information technology service or product. This involvement has been catalyzed and prepared for during their previous studies where the students have been told and shown how to develop similar systems. It is the belief that only through this 'real' project do they get the chance to experience something similar to what is expected of them when they embark on their chosen profession; that is, as an information technology professional. The high value of 'near real life' educational experience is recognized by many universities across the globe. The aim of this paper is to present examples from three countries - Australia, United Kingdom and South Africa, of the delivery of these team, capstone or industrial experience projects; their curricula and management processes. Academics from institutions in each of the countries share experiences, challenges and pitfalls encountered during the delivery of these information technology projects within their institutions. An overview of each institution's strategies is provided and highlights specific issues such as the selection of projects, allocation of teams to projects, legal requirements, assessment methods, challenges and benefits. The pedagogies presented here are not exhaustive; however, the three institutions do have in common the implementation of a combination of constructivism with a community of practice approach in delivering the project unit. The three universities recognize the need for industrial experience and learning of applied skills, and therefore make these projects a compulsory part of the curriculum. The projects tend to be real life business problems which are solved over a period of two semesters, and in the case of Cape Town it could be two consecutive years of two semesters each. These projects tend to involve practical development (for example databases and web sites). The process of project-to-team allocation is generally similar in all cases. Despite their differences, team work related problems are quite similar in all three cases presented, and seem to appear as a result of team work complexity, and the number of stakeholders involved. The intention of this paper is not to propose solutions to these problems (as these would be context dependent), but to draw the attention to the main problem categories for similar schemes, these are; • project selection, • management of students, • management of academic staff, • student team motivation, • equality and diversity, • passengers, and • assessment. Furthermore, it is not the intention of the authors to portray one approach as better than another, however, the approaches are representative of how team projects are being delivered across the globe, and in particular, in the contributing institutions. It is hoped that the assimilation and dissemination of information regarding the various approaches presented will nurture further discussion, and open communication across the globe with the view to enhancing the teaching and learning experience of such projects. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There are, of recent, expressed concerns, albeit small in number, about the failure of sociology to 'engage with the wider society'. Implicit and explicit in the concerns is the suggestion that sociology is no longer as exciting as it was during the period of the struggle against apartheid. The period of apartheid was taken as one of the 'rise' of sociology because of sociology's engagement with the political issues of the day. This paper argues that the assumed 'rise' and 'fall' of the discipline in South Africa can better be characterised as the visibility of sociology in the 'public'. It is argued that the decades 30s. 40s and 50s were decades of success for sociology just like the 60s, 70s and early 80s that some point to as the period of 'rise' of the discipline The earlier decades saw the ascendancy of positivism, and sociology of that period contributed in great measure to the construction of apartheid, which was subsequently dismantled with contributions from sociology, specifically, the Marxist sociology. If there is therefore a 'fall' of sociology, it is the 'fall' of a theoretical perspective in sociology. However, given the call for a 'critical edge' in the discipline, it is suggested that such an edge would need to start from the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperation between education and employers regarding the demands of a rapidly changing world ( focus on the situation in Southern Gauteng, a part of one of the nine provinces of South Africa). This paper attempt to address cooperation between education and role players in the labour market. Deriving from this the following question is regarded as valid: To what extent does present day education in South Africa offer solutions for the following • the changing demands of the labour market • the ability to adapt in a changing world • unemployment Although provision is made in the new curriculum, based on a new educational approach in South Africa, for equipping learners with skills and values, the emphasis is still on academic studies. Learners are therefore not adequately equipped for the labour market, national and international changes over a wide spectrum, or with the entrepreneurial skills to provide for themselves. That this complex situation is relevant in the Southern Gauteng area is supported by the fact that the unemployment rate varies around 50%. In a small scale study research was done to determine what the relationship is between education and the labour market in this area specifically with the aim of finding solutions for the problems stated above. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the education and training of cataloguing students in South Africa at a distance education institution where the focus is on career-specific training. The position of the cataloguing course in the curriculum and the content of the course are explained. The utilization of media and technologies in offering the course, and anticipated changes and possible future developments are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the position of the mother tongue in the proposed additive bilingual programmes in South Africa. It is argued that since the teaching and use of African languages, particularly as media of instruction, is less than adequate, their use in additive bilingual programmes, the official South African language in education policy, is unlikely to be successful. The paper is divided into three parts. First, the sociolinguistic, cultural, and political factors are examined. Here, apartheid education and its legacy are discussed. Second, using data from De Klerk (1996) and Smit (1996), language use and attitudes of South Africans to language and education are discussed. In this section, the pressures on standard African tongues by urban varieties and English are highlighted in relation to the pedagogical and theoretical underpinnings of additive bilingualism. Third, the practical possibilities for the implementation of mother-tongue medium of instruction given the 11 official languages, as well as the implementation of a viable bilingual education programme in which mother tongues play a decisive role are discussed. Finally, it is concluded that government's additive bilingualism policy is unlikely to succeed as long as role models, learners and their parents see little utility in languages other than in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The emergence of the Speech-Language and Hearing (SLH) professions in South Africa took place during the era of racial segregation. Consequently, the culture and language of these professions have predominantly reflected the minority White population, even in SLH training programs. English has remained the language of learning and teaching (LOLT) in most South African tertiary institutions, with a strong Western cultural influence. Given the increasing diversity in these institutions, a mismatch between the language of instruction and that of English Additional Language (EAL) students poses academic challenges for this population, prompting the need for this study. Aim: This study aims to investigate the learning and social experiences of EAL undergraduate students enrolled in South African SLH training programs, with a specific focus on exploring their engagement with academic content in the curriculum. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey design was employed, and a total of 24 EAL students participated in the study. Descriptive and thematic analysis methods were utilized for data analysis. Results: The findings revealed that EAL students encountered academic challenges primarily related to their proficiency in the LOLT, which were most pronounced in lectures and examinations, while being relatively less pronounced in assignments. Complementary use of indigenous languages, simplification of complex terminology and self-employed strategies to cope in response to the existing academic language challenges are highlighted. These findings underscore the significance of addressing pedagogical approaches, language policies, and curriculum transformation towards a more Afrocentric perspective. Conclusion: The study highlights the academic difficulties faced by EAL students in South African SLH training programs. The implications for future interventions in this context are highlighted. The findings emphasize the need for pedagogical reforms, language policy considerations, and curriculum transformation that embraces Afrocentric perspectives. Addressing these issues is crucial to ensure equitable educational experiences and support the success of EAL students in the SLH field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

History helps society understand its past and its influence on the present and future. South Africa is a country with a unique history, comprising of varying accounts from the different people that make up its 'rainbow' nation. In 2018, South Africa's Department of Basic Education; announced that history would be a compulsory subject for learners from Grades 10–12 starting from 2023. Changes would include a revised curriculum, teacher training and other issues. Expectedly archives would also be factored into this transformation process, as they are integral to history. Therefore, this study investigated the involvement and readiness of archivists in South African public archival repositories to support this development. Nineteen (19) archivists from the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa and the nine (9) Provincial Archives participated in an online survey. The findings indicate that there was minimal involvement of archivists. Nevertheless, the archivists were confident that they had the content and skills, to some extent, to support the revised curriculum. The study recommends that archivists be more proactive in raising awareness about the archives and linking various stakeholders, such as the Department of Basic Education, with these valuable records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selection of content for a school syllabus is important in achieving progress towards inclusive generalisations which characterise powerful knowledge. Biology as a discipline progresses from knowledge of individual facts to inclusive generalisations such as homeostasis, energy transformations, heredity, and evolution. The present study evaluated the selection of content in the official biology syllabus for the seventh and eighth years of schooling in four diverse jurisdictions: Kenya, South Africa, British Columbia (Canada) and Singapore. The purpose was to determine whether and how content selection enabled progression to inclusive generalisations in biology and to compare selection, sequencing and progression among the four jurisdictions. General Topic Trace Mapping was used to compare each syllabus to a generic reference syllabus structured according to inclusive generalisations. Although there was some agreement in the scope of topics selected, jurisdictions varied in the way it was organised. Kenya included more everyday knowledge than other jurisdictions. British Columbia and Singapore selected content according to unifying themes, whereas South Africa and Kenya did not. South Africa selected content that enabled progression towards inclusive generalisations, but did not explicitly identify the generalisations. This study supports the contention that powerful knowledge in biology may be construed differently in diverse jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African Revenue Service acknowledges that it faces various risks, such as revenue collection uncertainty, unfavourable public perceptions and low compliance. Despite South Africa's sophisticated taxation system, improvements to taxpayer education may provide the most comprehensive opportunity to allay these risks. This study examined taxpayer education strategies utilised in foreign countries to identify opportunities for initiatives that could be used to foster compliance-enhancing behaviour. In addition, the South African taxation infrastructure was assessed to determine its ability to integrate foreign compliance strategies. Three taxpayer education themes of enculturation, education and awareness were identified. Using a qualitative research methodology, 15 interviews were conducted with respondents who could provide knowledgeable opinions on the issues raised. The respondents confirmed the importance of these themes and the need to introduce the three tax education initiatives. This study recommends that taxpaying values be enculturated and normalised among future taxpayers before they leave school, that taxpaying aptitude, preparedness and confidence be developed by revising the financial, maths and tax literacy elements introduced throughout the school curriculum, as well as piloting an informative Taxpayers' Week during Tax Season. The study's contribution is unique in differentiating taxpaying skill development from taxpayer enculturation within school education. Practical direction is given to South African authorities concerning which tax education initiatives from foreign countries could be adapted and adopted. This study proposes novel initiatives and provides suggestions to optimise the existing taxpayer education and awareness efforts. Lastly, it contributes to the limited tax education and tax compliance literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life sciences research provides critical insights into disease processes and allows for the development of novel treatments and innovative medical technologies, thereby directly improving human health and technology. Despite the widely acknowledged relevance of life sciences, there has been a long-term pattern of low performance. This is due to inefficient teaching methods, as how a lesson is delivered influences the learners' level of understanding, among other things. Hence, the present study examined the experiences of life sciences teachers and learners in using IBL to enhance the academic performance of life science learners. This study was underpinned by the interpretivism paradigm, a qualitative approach, and a participatory research approach. The study population consisted of all life sciences learners in a rural school in the Amathole West district, Eastern Cape province of South Africa, from which 2 life sciences teachers and 14 learners were conveniently sampled. Data were collected using interviews, observations, and document reviews, and they were analysed using thematic analysis. The research findings revealed that enquiry-based learning has the potential to foster the development of critical thinking, problemsolving, and communication skills among life sciences learners. However, several issues make it difficult to successfully implement enquiry-based learning in the context of teaching and learning life sciences, including a lack of resources, time constraints, misreading of instructions, a lack of support or supervision, and a lack of pedagogical topic expertise among teachers. The study concludes that enquiry-based learning, when done right, can help learners understand life sciences concepts deeper and remember what they have learnt for a longer period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose that when learners in school classrooms write up a scientific observation, firstly as a science report and then as a poem, the way they express insights appropriate to each format can advance learners' observation skills and developing insight of the natural world. This could lead to productive learning alliances across traditional discipline boundaries and, by surfacing the cultural dimension of science within a sociocultural frame, promote social change. Tracing the domains of science and poetry over the last two centuries, we discern three areas of synergy: culture, creativity, and the curriculum. An integrative classroom exercise was devised to support these synergies explicitly with the intention of inspiring learners to write (say) what they really mean (see). We describe the encouraging results of a preliminary trial of this writing exercise with one small class of South African high school students, and outline possible future directions for research prompted by this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay focuses on how communities respond to curricula they see as subversive or that does not have the best intent for their community, schools, culture, or religion: responses that ensue and what informs such responses. Education in South Africa, as well as in the United States and many societies, is rooted in culture. The majority group, or the most powerful group as in the case of South Africa, usually dominates the community, schools, and society (CSS) culture. Thus, any attempt to adjust the status quo can lead to a cultural rift that threatens to tear apart the fabric of the community in question. A couple of examples from the United States are the Great Textbook War of 1974 in West Virginia, a conflict that was caused by the introduction of a new textbook to the school system; and the desegregation busing riot in Boston, Massachusetts (1974). In South Africa, the Soweto Uprising was caused by the apartheid government Medium Decree of 1974, which forced all black schools to use Afrikaans and English in a 50:50 mix as languages of instruction. Contemporary South Africa faces many challenges in relation to poverty, race, and language. What we have learned from these incidents and the future of curriculum in the digital age is the major focus of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a paper on a “contextual South African philosophy curriculum”, M. John Lamola makes some sweeping comments about South African philosophers during the apartheid era and insinuates parallels with those today who ask questions about what a decolonised curriculum is. His arguments here are unclear, are based on false and insufficiently nuanced claims, and are pregnant with innuendo. In my response I demonstrate this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the worldwide interest in transforming curricula, there have been limited case study examinations of what really happens within an open distance and e-learning (ODeL) South African university context. By using the psychosocial and social identity theories, we highlight the complexities involved in transforming decades of teaching and learning practices. The reports from five colleges highlighted three key themes, namely curriculum responsiveness, decolonisation and identity issues. From these we developed a framework to help capture some of the complexities, identified implications and charted a new direction for future studies within the South African post-colonial and post-apartheid arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the student protests in South Africa, students indicated that they were still taught irrelevant knowledge after 25 years of independence. The decolonisation of the curriculum was one of the demands of the Fees-Must-Fall protests. The purpose of this chapter is to join the debate by determining the way in which the higher education curriculum can be humanised by making it culturally responsive. This was a qualitative study and the sample included six academics selected from the programme of the London International Conference on Education (LICE-2018) and World Congress on Special Needs Education held from 10 to 13 December 2018 at Cambridge, UK. Presenters whose papers were related to the contextualisation of the curriculum were targeted. An e-mail requesting a 60-minute interview was sent to ten of them. Only five agreed to participate. The participants cited initiatives by Tanzanians (Ujamaa) and Zimbabweans (unhu) to promote culturally responsive education. This study makes recommendations that include education that encourages self-reliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on lessons learnt in the use of teachers' social capital as a resource for curriculum development, in the implementation of the Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) programme in South Africa. The researchers in this study were amongst the trainers. The study followed a qualitative research approach, where a descriptive research design was adopted. Twenty teachers (two groups, of ten each) were recruited to form part of the study through a purposive sampling strategy. Data was collected through two methods: interviews and observations. The data collected was explicated using Hycner's (1999) model of data analysis. Data transcripts were re-read until categories and themes emerged. The study found that teachers were enthusiastic about implementing the programme as they participated actively in it through the implementation of CFS principles in their Life Orientation (LO) classrooms. The findings of this study have at least two implications for policy makers and researchers. The first is that the one-day workshops that teachers attend over a weekend appear to be inadequate, and could be used to complement more structured interventions such as that described in this article. The second is that teachers' social capital is critical in the implementation of curriculum development processes for an intervention to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Phonetic transcription may encourage engagement with language diversity in multilingual settings. We describe how transcription can be used to help South African speech-language therapy (SLT) students engage with the many languages spoken in their country. Objectives were to describe (a) the local context, (b) transcription in the curriculum, and (c) participant observations from staff facilitating the Child Speech course. Method and Materials: A case study approach was used to investigate teaching and learning transcription in a real-life context, the undergraduate second-year Child Speech course in an SLT programme. Document review of curriculum and university documents, national policies, and international best practice guidelines took place, together with participant observations from facilitators. Results: We describe 4 activities that show how transcription skills can be developed while introducing local languages into the curriculum. These activities give students the opportunity to develop transcription skills for a range of local languages, while at the same time encouraging them to learn the languages, construct communal resources, and promote a problem-solving attitude to their practice. Conclusion: Calls to transform higher education in South Africa and "decolonise" curricula are key drivers underpinning this work. Transcription may be a useful tool in preparing students to practise in a multilingual context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic biomedical engineering (BME) has the potential to address health care needs through the training of graduates able to work in and build the health care technology industry, and through the production of knowledge and research products that can be exploited to enhance health care. This paper explores factors that drive and restrain the relevance of a graduate BME program, i.e. its contribution to health care technology development and utilization, in South Africa, a middle income country with significant health disparities among its population. A focus on clinical and industrial partnerships is proposed.

The study’s main aim was to investigate challenges faced by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in addressing the skills shortage gap in the rural communities of South Africa. The human capital theory was employed as the theoretical framework in this study. The study followed the qualitative approach for data generation and analysis. In their respective portfolios, six campus senior personnel participated in the in-depth interviews. The findings identified a lack of trained lecturers, the poor design of the TVET curriculum, curriculum fragmentation, weak institutional structures, and poor infrastructure. The findings also noted the poor funding norms, poor policy frameworks, lack of active support by the stakeholders, and a poor relationship with the TVET partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the ongoing study to develop a Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) curriculum for visually impaired learners in South Africa, teachers reported hesitance from parents/guardians to inform their visually impaired children about sex. As such, this study sought to explore parents/guardians' involvement in their children's psychosexual education. Five parents/guardians were engaged in a focus-group discussion. Data were analysed thematically, while home-school partnership theory underpinned this study. Parents felt confident that they had prepared their children with enough psychosexual education to make healthy sexual choices, and therefore blamed teachers, security guards, and hostel caretakers for their children's early sexual debut. However, no blame or accountability was assigned to the learners for their own sexual behaviour and decision-making. Interrogating the complexities within these socio-educational spaces suggested that there was confusion in the roles and responsibilities assumed for the capacitation of visually impaired learners with CSE. More importantly, the problem was not that parents were worried that these learners were not having safe sex, but that they should not be having sex at all now or in the future. The study suggests that a supportive, non-judgemental, and collaborative home-school partnership is necessary to recognise and guide the sexual agency of visually impaired learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: An estimated 38 million people are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) worldwide. Pharmacists are well positioned to provide care to patients with HIV, but gaps in HIV education among pharmacists exist. Recognizing the need to educate and prepare future pharmacists, a 2-credit advanced HIV elective course was created for Doctor of Pharmacy students at Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the United States, and Masters of Clinical Pharmacy students from University of Western Cape School of Pharmacy in South Africa. Methods: Course topics included diagnosis and treatment of HIV in children and adults, management of common comorbidities, pre-exposure prophylaxis, pharmacogenetic applications, and antiretroviral drug-drug interactions. Course effectiveness was evaluated using student examination results. Student perceptions were evaluated using pre- and post-course self-assessments involving abilities, confidence, and attitudes toward caring for people living with HIV. Results: Student pharmacists demonstrated competency in HIV knowledge, demonstrated skills in application to clinical-based scenarios, and reported significantly improved confidence and abilities as well as positive changes in attitudes toward people with HIV. Conclusion: This course contributed to student learning across different student cohorts in an institutional program in the United States including successful execution of distance learning and clinical application for students at a program in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexuality education forms part of the national school curricula of most sub-Saharan African countries, yet risk-related sexual behaviour among young people continues to fuel the HIV pandemic in this part of the world. One of the arguments put forward to explain why sexuality education seems to have had little impact on sexual risk-taking is that existing curricula have neglected to take into account the complexity of the social, cultural and gender norms that influence the behaviour of school-going young people in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past few years, the Department of Basic Education in South Africa has recognised the need to provide guidance to teachers on the content, pedagogical processes and messages that are relevant to their specific context. This paper critically reflects on findings from a literature-based study conducted to identify the cognitive and social factors influencing the behaviour of school-going young people in South Africa and the risk and protective factors that might be particular to their circumstances. The findings provide helpful guidelines about the development, content and implementation of sexuality education curricula more likely to be relevant in contexts of serious poverty and disadvantage. Although based on the South African literature, the findings may also offer useful lessons for curriculum designers in other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of doctoral education in Africa remained similar to those in European universities, well into the 2000s. However, there has been an increasing realisation that such programmes are ill-suited for the African realities. With recent efforts to revitalise higher education in Africa, considerable attention has been placed on the need to explore more effective models of doctoral education, better suited to the African context. Doctoral education is key to this rebuilding as it offers the potential for developing skilled staff for academic and research institutions, and is central to the development of much-needed locally relevant knowledge in Africa. In the last decade, innovative programmes have emerged that make use of partnerships to achieve more than individual institutions could, working alone. This paper examines the constraints, challenges and opportunities in African doctoral education and identifies critical elements of doctoral education that have particular nuances in the African context. We propose a framework for evaluating the suitability of the structure and practices of such programmes. We review two of the more successful collaborative Ph.D. programmes with reference to this framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterosexism and heteronormativity are pervasive in the South African society, but to what degree are they present in Life Orientation (LO) textbooks? This question, explored through a content analysis of widely used Grade 10 LO textbooks, was framed by queer theory. The paper quantitatively examines the coverage of sexualities, and qualitatively examines how sexualities are constructed and projected in the texts. The quantitative analysis reveals a low percentage of statements devoted to sexuality overall and the normalisation of heterosexuality mainly through the exclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) sexualities but also through techniques of differentiation, hierarchisation and homogenisation. The qualitative analysis reveals inadequate information about sexualities and in its place a simplistic, moralistic ideological approach. Furthermore, discussions of the family, dating, safe sex and marriage assume heterosexuality as the norm. Nineteen years after the democratisation of South Africa and 17 years after the ratification of South Africa's constitution which explicitly forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, LGBT sexualities are largely invisible in school LO curricula. Since this is a subject that is compulsory for all learners and its express aim is to prepare young South Africans for participation as citizens in a just and democratic society, the absence of LGBT issues and identities helps perpetuate prejudice and violence towards LGBT communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper adds to extant professional education literature by reflecting on apparent differences in pedagogy of similar professional programmes of study, allowing deeper insight into the unique strand of higher education influenced by the professions. A comparative international case study approach is adopted of an interpretive qualitative nature regarding curricular, teaching and learning and assessment strategies of an accounting department in South Africa (SA) and one in the UK. Findings point to significant differences in curriculum and assessment but less so in teaching and learning approaches. One department endeavoured to find a balance between vocational and academic activities, whilst the other favoured the former being inconsistent with both its governmental and institutional governing bodies. Explanations offered include differing strengths of coercive, competitive, mimetic and normative influence [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]