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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures have had profound impacts on learners and their families globally, affecting their psychosocial wellbeing. However, the extent and nature of these effects, particularly in diverse socioeconomic contexts, remain largely under-explored. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effects of school closures on the psychosocial wellbeing of children and parents in South Africa's Gauteng province. Setting: The research included families from various socioeconomic backgrounds in Gauteng province, South Africa. Methods: Using an ethnographic research approach, diary-style entries via the WhatsApp mobile app were collected from 43 families, and semi-structured telephonic interviews were conducted with 21 families. Results: The study found that children experienced adverse emotions, including loneliness, boredom, anxiety and isolation during school closures. Parents reported elevated stress levels and increased caregiving burden. The severity of impact was influenced by access to resources for online or home-schooling. Conclusion: The findings highlight the multi-dimensional implications of school closures on families and underscore the importance of providing adequate support during such disruptions, taking into account the varying effects across socioeconomic backgrounds. Contribution: This study fills a crucial gap in understanding the psychosocial impacts of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic on children and parents within diverse socioeconomic contexts. The findings call for equitable access to educational resources, evidence-based remediation efforts, and integrated mental health support services.

Background: A lack of student 'buy-in' and engagement are often major obstacles in academic literacy courses. To create a dialogic learning environment which encourages student investment and challenges traditional student-lecturer hierarchies of power, the curriculum of a first-year academic literacy course at a South African university was reconceptualised around an action-learning project. Objectives: The aim is to determine whether the reconceptualised course enabled dialogic learning that fostered a sense of investment in students. Method: An interpretivist paradigm was followed, drawing on a qualitative research approach. To explore the nature of student investment, discourse analysis was used to analyse group reflections submitted at the end of the 21-week course. Student reflections were coded thematically using an inductive approach. Results: These reflections indicate that specific mechanisms need to be in place for effective dialogic engagement. If in place, findings suggest that the dialogic approach could encourage critical thinking, help students to develop problem-solving skills, lead to cognisance of multiple perspectives, deepen understanding of course material and expectations, promote inclusivity, and encourage reflection on the learning process. Conclusion: This study indicates that purposefully embedding a dialogic approach into a curriculum through purpose-driven group activities, can lead to more engaged learning. Contribution: The paper contributes to the field of academic literacy studies by showing how academic literacy practitioners may use the now-established pedagogies of action-learning and dialogic teaching and learning to design courses that create an enabling environment for students to draw on deep approaches to learning.

The sudden eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the performance of employees and had an impact on their psychological wellness. Its gravity and forceful nature disrupted and activated emotions of demotivation in employees which requires managers to use motivation as a tool for stimulating the high performance of employees in any organisation. This paper explores how motivation can be used as a strategy to improve rural secondary teachers' work performance and wellness for their job satisfaction in Amathole East Education District of South Africa. Herzberg's Two-Factor theory was adopted for the study. The current study was grounded on a qualitative approach with a case study research design. A purposive sampling technique was adopted to choose three schools and twenty-eight participants used in the study. Focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews were used to gather data from the participants. The study discovered that recognition for teacher performance and offering psychological support stood out as sources of motivation that could be used to improve their work performance and wellness. The study recommends that schools design rewarding models and form community of practice groups post-COVID-19 to improve teachers' morale to perform satisfactorily at work.

Executive functions (EFs) in early childhood are predictors of later developmental outcomes and school readiness. Much of the research on EFs and their psychosocial correlates has been conducted in high-income, minority world countries, which represent a small and biased portion of children globally. The aim of this study is to examine EFs among children aged 3-5 years in two African countries, South Africa (SA) and The Gambia (GM), and to explore shared and distinct predictors of EFs in these settings. The SA sample (N = 243, 51.9% female) was recruited from low-income communities within the Cape Town Metropolitan area. In GM, participants (N = 171, 49.7% female) were recruited from the rural West Kiang region. EFs, working memory (WM), inhibitory control (IC) and cognitive flexibility (CF), were measured using tablet-based tasks. Associations between EF task performance and indicators of socioeconomic status (household assets, caregiver education) and family enrichment factors (enrichment activities, diversity of caregivers) were assessed. Participants in SA scored higher on all EF tasks, but children in both sites predominantly scored within the expected range for their age. There were no associations between EFs and household or familial variables in SA, except for a trend-level association between caregiver education and CF. Patterns were similar in GM, where there was a trend-level association between WM and enrichment activities but no other relationships. We challenge the postulation that children in low-income settings have poorer EFs, simply due to lower socioeconomic status, but highlight the need to identify predictors of EFs in diverse, global settings.

This study explores how a study-abroad program that combines journalism best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion with decolonized curricular materials can foster critical consciousness in journalism education. Against the backdrop of a multiethnic world, growing diversity in student demographics, and a recognition of the lack of diversity in newsrooms and news content, journalism education can explore innovative and radical options to equip future journalists. Data analysis of five cohorts of a journalism study abroad in South Africa finds that using such options translates into journalists-in-training producing news content that reflects a critical consciousness about equity, justice, and colonialism.

In this article I explore the emotional resources activated by single mothers to support their adolescent children's educational journeys. Mothers' emotional work is often regarded as something that mothers must do (Gillies, 2006). However, this view does not recognise the power and influence that mothers exert to create opportunities for educational success. By centring the mother as the head of her family and drawing on the concept of emotional capital as a legitimate and valuable resource within single-mother families, it becomes possible to show how mothers in a low socio-economic community invest in their children's schooling. This article is based on a qualitative case study of single-mother families from a South African community. The findings show that the single mothers maintained strong bonds with their children, which enhanced perceived support and contributed positively to their education. Maintaining open communication channels, demonstrating authoritative parenting, and communicating pride in non-academic qualities were significant emotional practices that served to maintain these strong bonds. By engaging in these practices, these single mothers from low-income contexts activated their emotions strategically to support their adolescent child's education.

Autistic individuals experience higher rates of externalising and internalising symptoms that may vary with environmental factors. However, there is limited research on variation across settings that may highlight common factors with globally generalisable effects. Data were taken from two cohorts: a multinational European sample (n = 764; 453 autistic; 311 non-autistic; 6-30 years), and a South African sample (n = 100 non-autistic; 3-11 years). An exploratory factor analysis aggregated clinical (Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Index), adaptive traits (Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale) and socio-economic variables (parental employment and education, home and family characteristics) in each cohort separately. With regression, we investigated the effect of these factors and autistic traits on internalising and externalising scores (measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). Cohorts showed similar four-factor structures (Person Characteristics, Family System, Parental and Material Resources). The 'Family System' factor captured family size and maternal factors and was associated with lower internalising and externalising symptoms in both cohorts. In the European cohort, high autistic traits reduced this effect; the opposite was found in the South Africa cohort. Our exploratory findings from two separate analyses represent consistent evidence that Family System is associated with internalising and externalising symptoms, with a context-specific impact in persons with high autism traits. [This article was written with the EU-AIMS LEAP Team.]

Optometry education, like other health professions, has historically been conducted via contact teaching and learning in classrooms, clinics and laboratories. In 2020, COVID-19 imposed an abrupt move to online learning for higher education institutions. This was performed with little insight into the feasibility and readiness for its adoption within certain contexts, as well as the potential impact on learning. This qualitative descriptive project purposively recruited a representative sample of 30 optometry students from a South African university to explore their experiences of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using focus group interviews. The data were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Four themes emerged from the research, namely; learning how to learn online, need for social support, technology dependent, and authentic learning. The key challenges observed were difficulty in transitioning to online learning, independent learning, and not having reliable access to internet connectivity. Gaps in clinical skills resulting from restricted access to contact training and real-world clinical exposure negatively impacted competency development. Contribution: Pandemic disruptions to routine academic programme activities within higher education institutions have the potential to negatively impact the learning experience for students where institutions and/or students may be unprepared or under-resourced to support such a shift. The results of this study further suggest that exposure to real-world clinical contexts for optometry students should be enabled even under pandemic conditions to promote the development of clinical competencies needed for effective healthcare delivery. Finally, remote online assessments must be designed to support authentic learning so as not to compromise exit-level outcomes, skills and competencies.

Background: Physical, financial, social and emotional demands placed on caregivers caring for their children with severe intellectual disabilities (CWSID) could lead to high levels of burden. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the potential level of burden experienced by South African caregivers and aimed to identify possible contributing risk factors for increased levels of caregiver burden. Setting: Online and community parent support groups. Methods: This quantitative survey design study utilised data from 218 South African caregivers of CWSID. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. Family is the main support for 67% of participants. Results: Moderate to severe levels of caregiver burden were reported. No definite links between potentially contributing demographic risk factors and the overall level of caregiver burden were found. Caregivers of CWSID need to receive the required support from an early stage in the child's diagnosis to decrease potential caregiver burden and improve quality of life (QoL). Conclusion: Implications on intervention and prevention practices could inform the creation and implementation of a protocol to avert increased caregiver burden. Future research could be conducted to determine the implications of intervention towards CWSID and their family to decrease caregiver burden. Contribution: The study provided insight into the burden experienced by caregivers of CWSID. This is in line with the journal as it further proves how vulnerable CWSID are and the support they should be receiving from professionals.

Generational experiences create unique contextualised meanings for society. This is the case with millennials in South Africa, many of whom use social media to organise their lives and engage with issues pertinent to them, such as South Africa being a rainbow nation. Some of these millennials are history teachers who, when at work, have to teach an official history which may contradict some of their social media engagements. This motivated this article of which the aim was to identify the dominant conversations when relating to the rainbow nation among a selected group of Black millennial history teachers. In this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) we used a qualitative approach in which 10 participants were involved in photo elicitation, semi-structured interviews, and focus-group discussions. Data were thematically analysed. The findings reflect millennials mainly engaged with violence, coloniality, victory, unity, and identity. The findings further suggest that the discourses were both contending and overlapping. We argue that millennial history teachers in South Africa hold different views about the rainbow nation: even though they paint the notion with predominant negativity, there is evidence of underlying positivity about it.

This qualitative study explored the benefits of peer group support for first-year South African students who live in university residences. A case study design was adopted and data were collected from first-year students via focus group interviews at a selected South African university. Thematic analysis revealed the benefits for first-year students joining peer groups in the residences, such as a sense of belonging, receiving academic support, developing student leadership roles, and involvement in co-curricular activities. In addition, the study highlights the need for implementing student programmes to assist first-year students in transitioning from school to university.

Purpose: The study explored whether an asynchronous short online course in mental health well-being and resilience for healthcare workers (HCWs) showed improved self-reported results among participants during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: A descriptive cross-sectional study evaluated the course outcomes using the 10-item Connor and Davison's Resilience Scale, the World Health Organization's WHO-five well-being index and self-developed questions. Data were collected via online questionnaires before and after course completion. Findings: A total of 1301 HCWs participated. The highest proportion of participants was from South Africa (SA) (93.7%) and females (78.7%). Analysed mean pre- and post-training scores showed increased scores in all five domains: knowledge, confidence in course outcomes, behaviour, resilience and well-being. Confidence in the course outcomes was the only common significant construct for both well-being and resilience. Mindfulness activities ([beta] = 0.12, 95%CI [0.032, 0.213], p = 0.008) and self-care behaviours ([beta] = 0.14, 95%CI [0.035, 0.241], p = 0.009) were significant predictors of participants' well-being. Coping mechanisms for stress ([beta] = 0.12, 95%CI [0.036, 0.21], p = 0.006) and connecting with a social support network ([beta] = 0.085, 95%CI [0.0007, 0.17], p = 0.048) were significant predictors of participants' resilience. Those working in the private sector, those working in clinical settings and those who were female showed significant associations with well-being and resilience. Research limitations/implications: The results are self-reported data which may be susceptible to social desirability and acquiescent effects. There are no guarantees that positive effects observed during this study are sustained over time. The study sample was selective in that it excluded those who did not consent for the use of their data and those who did not complete the course. Originality/value: The research is noteworthy as literature shows that female HCWs tend to have worse mental health outcomes than males in the same field. Online learning can enable HCWs to conveniently access mental health education, accommodate their work commitments and explore topics that are potentially stigmatising.

Purpose: The South African vocational education and training (VET) sector is required by legislation to redefine postsecondary education, advance industrialisation and expand the job market to address unemployment in the country. Yet, VET leaders' heterogenous educational and occupational backgrounds do not enable them to address the needs of the VET sector. Continuous professional development of leaders in the education sector needs to include support structures such as mentoring. Design/methodology/approach: The present study sought to investigate how VET managers in South Africa perceive three different types of mentoring -- individual, peer group and expert-based key performance area (KPA) mentoring -- during a part-time professional leadership development programme. Using interactive qualitative analysis (IQA), the authors collected and analysed data from focus group discussions (n = 24) and individual interviews (n = 21) from two cohorts of the programme. Findings: The results revealed that individual mentoring represented the most important driving mechanism, followed by peer group mentoring and expert-based KPA mentoring. Participants identified leadership as a prerequisite for their development. Emotions formed the final outcome of the mentoring framework. Research limitations/implications: Based on the findings, the authors suggest investigating the role played by leaders' interpersonal competences such as emotional competence in the workplace. Additionally, research needs to clarify if and how mentoring can support leaders to develop interpersonal competences in formal and informal settings. Originality/value: The study offers empirical evidence on a three-pillar mentoring framework adopted in a professional development programme for leaders in VET in South Africa. It highlights the importance of individual, social and emotional factors.

The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) refers to the psychological experience of individuals mistakenly perceiving themselves as incompetent, despite external evidence of their success. Research has highlighted the prevalence of impostor feelings within academic settings, particularly among women. To better understand the gender gap in academia, our research questions explore the role of IP, gender, and support systems as potential predictors of students' decisions to study further, using a South African university student sample. Anchoring vignettes are used to improve the comparability across survey responses. Consistent with previous research, our findings confirm that women report higher levels of impostor feelings compared to men. Moreover, we observe a significant negative association between impostor feelings and the likelihood of students pursuing further studies. Interestingly, men with intense IP levels are more likely to opt out of studying further compared to women with intense impostor feelings. Additionally, individuals with mentors in their field of study are more likely to study further relative to those without mentors. These findings are reinforced when participants advise whether fictional characters in hypothetical situations should study further: characters experiencing high levels of impostor feelings are more frequently advised against studying further.

Since 1994, numerous policies promoted social justice and the transformation of the South African society. The recurriculated Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme at the Sol Plaatje University aims to equip students with knowledge and skills to realise the aim of social justice. The aim of this study was to explore Sol Plaatje University students' experiences and perceptions of a curriculum that aims to promote social justice. We selected 3 education modules, with the assumption that they reflected social justice content. Four students, representative of different ethnic and language groupings at the university were chosen as participants. Data were generated through 3 reflective exercises about each of the modules, spread over a period of 3 years. The module aims, linked with the narratives of the participants' perceptions and experiences of each module, provided an overview of their experiences of the enacted curriculum. A qualitative research design with an interpretivist approach informed by Dover's (2013) social justice pedagogy was used. The students' narratives shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of how the BEd curriculum worked towards social justice and revealed the students' perceptions of otherness. From the narratives it became apparent that the 3 modules did promote a social justice orientation in prospective teachers educated at the university.

The development of urban students' mathematical proving ability is a goal of several curricula frameworks, including some located in the southern hemisphere. However, in achieving this goal, most curriculum frameworks do so from a Western worldview, which is characterized by competition and the role of the individual. The purpose of this study was to use the emancipatory lens to critique the use of a quantitative methodology in favor of the Ubuntu worldview, a methodology grounded in indigenous African epistemologies, particularly storytelling. To this end, I analyzed data drawn from the administration of a survey questionnaire to a conveniently selected sample of 135 11th-grade students enrolled in three separate high schools from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse communities in the eThekwini metropolitan area of South Africa. The context for the argument in this study was provided by correlating students' understanding of functions of proof (verification, explanation, communication, discovery, and systematization) with their argumentation ability, two variables often considered as the key limiting factors for meaningful learning of mathematical proofs. The poor results obtained from a quantitative analysis of data using Western perspectives highlight the emerging need for finding postcolonial methodologies that are sensitive to ethnic issues in addition to language and gender issues. In addition, the inadequacy of the current mathematics curriculum to serve the linguistic and gender needs of urban African students became apparent. This increases the need for sub-Saharan instructors to have knowledge to pursue emancipatory instruction. The key contribution of this study to the field is that it sheds light on the marginalization of African students in learning mathematical proof and related concepts from Western perspectives rather than conducting instructional practices in the Global South's terms; the scope of the effort may explain why research efforts in this line of work have not been documented extensively in literature.

This paper applies Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as well as data analysis to gain a better understanding of the existing perception on the education system. 45,278 tweets were downloaded and processed. Using a lexicon-based approach, examining the most frequently used words, and estimating similarities between terms, we detected that a predominantly negative perception of the education system exists in most of the analysed countries. A positive perception is identified in certain low-income nations. Men exhibit a more positive sentiment than women as well as a higher subjectivity in some countries. The countries that exhibit the most positive perceptions India, Canada, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and Kenya are also those that manifest the highest subjectivity.

The outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown measures that were widely implemented in response to the pandemic forced many of the forms of engagement and activities promoted by student affairs and services staff among students at universities to be curtailed or transformed -- at first, so that they entailed no interpersonal contact and later so that they took place in line with health and safety protocols restricting contact. The moment of crisis required decisive, innovative leadership from members of staff as they sought to help meet the needs of students who were now deprived of the benefits of the psycho-social, intellectual and physical engagements that had been provided by in-person contact on highly interactive campuses. Accordingly, the student affairs and services staff at North-West University in South Africa collaborated with students, leveraging their creative potential to reach out, create and implement new student support systems and programmes through structured activities that could take place online and in the form of strictly controlled contact sessions. In this context, two new initiatives were established at the university: a student behaviour project which sought to deploy student peers to promote adherence to COVID-19 occupational health and safety protocols among the student population; and a raft of psycho-social support interventions, including webinars, cultural and sporting activities, and residence activities which promoted student welfare including by helping students to manage the realities of the pandemic more effectively. This reflective article, authored by two of the North-West University student affairs and services staff responsible for launching and leading these initiatives, considers the kinds of collaboration among university staff and with students that informed the establishment and implementation of these projects. Focusing particularly on how these projects may have contributed towards increased levels of social capital among the students at the university at a moment of crisis, with a view to extract lessons that may be learned for the proactive development of student-support measures under similar conditions in future.

In addition to academic support, the provision of dedicated affective support during a student's online learning journey has a significant impact on their emotional wellbeing and ability to remain engaged with their studies. This kind of support is even more essential during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, during which students may feel isolated, vulnerable, and overwhelmed by the events taking place around them. This study reports on the value of such support provided by a dedicated affective support mechanism. Within a case study design, 34 participants were purposefully selected to collect data by using focus groups and individual online interviews. The Community of Inquiry framework guided the study. The findings revealed that although students' dependence on emotional support varied, they recognised that feeling the social presence of a dedicated person who was able to support them emotionally played a key role in their sense of connection to their online learning communities. Recommendations include the consideration of institutions offering online and distance education to plan for a dedicated third party focusing on the facilitation of a stronger sense of emotional connectedness and wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of higher education institutions in profound ways. After the restrictions of movement under lockdowns imposed in response to the pandemic from 2020, higher education institutions were forced to think creatively and quickly about how to respond to arising challenges of completing the academic year and ensuring throughput and retention of students. Historically disadvantaged institutions in South Africa were particularly hard hit in taking on the challenge of online learning given their restricted resources and the under-preparedness of the student cohort who are attracted to these institutions. This article uses data from two surveys conducted among students at the University of the Western Cape which measured students' experiences and access to psycho-social and academic support services in 2020. In addition to the findings of these surveys, emails from a student counselling line at the university are also used to reflect on students' expressed needs for support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilising Nancy Fraser's model of social justice and focusing particularly on the economic and cultural dimensions of this model, this article seeks to provide an understanding of the constraints and support that students experienced when seeking to access online academic and psycho-social support. Fraser's affirmative and transformative approaches to producing change are discussed to help identify how the constraints that were experienced could be addressed to achieve participatory parity.

Background: The use of mobile health (mHealth) technology is rapidly expanding in healthcare worldwide. mHealth tools may provide parents with access to resources essential for promoting language development. Aim: The current study aimed to determine how an mHealth parental resource influenced 42 preschool children's (4.0-5.11 months old) language abilities after a 17-week intervention period. Setting: Participants were identified from six early childhood development (ECD) centres from a low-income community in Tshwane, South Africa. Method: A randomised controlled trial (RCT), pre-test post-test research design was employed to determine whether an mHealth parental resource influenced 42 preschool children's (4.0-5.11 months old) language abilities after a 17-week intervention period. Data were collected using the language subtests of a South African standardised protocol, the Emergent Literacy and Language Assessment Protocol (ELLA). Results: The parental mHealth application targeting language stimulation did not significantly improve the experimental group's language outcomes when compared with the control group because most of the parents (n = 27) used the application for less than 20% of the active days. Conclusion: Providing parents with more support with mobile resources may lead to improved usage of the application.

An earlier paper focused on how born-free learners constitute, negotiate and represent their identities after almost two and half decades of democracy in South Africa. Utilising the theoretical framework of subjective realities of educational change, in this article I set out to explore what implications teachers' beliefs hold for born-free learners, and how teachers' beliefs can be changed or adapted to initiate appropriate educational change. The focus of this article is on the beliefs of teachers and how the change thereof can contribute to educational change, based on how learners perceive their identities. The epistemological lens of social constructivism and the research strategy of narrative inquiry was used. Fifty-eight born-free learners across 6 research sites participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews and field notes comprised the data capture, which were analysed using the qualitative content analysis method. Findings reveal that shifting and diverse self-identifications of born-free learners hold fundamental and crucial implications that reside at the heart of educational change, namely a change in teachers' beliefs and in teachers' practice.

The article focuses on the school-based support that youths who are heading households get from public schools in South Africa. It is based on the study that was conducted focusing on the extent to which schools support youths who head households. The study adopted the qualitative research methodological approach where three methods were used to construct data. The three methods used are observation, semi structured interviews and documents. Eight children from four public schools were selected as participants in the study. Data constructed was analyzed by using the Thematic Content Analysis approach. The findings reveal that youths who head households are faced with challenges that include among others, economic constraints, lack of resources, and humiliation. Furthermore, they do not get the necessary support from schools. The article argues that lack of support by schools adds to the challenges that children are confronted with in their daily struggle for survival.

Families of autistic children from underserved populations participate in support services at lower rates than other families. To better understand possible reasons for this inequity, we reviewed qualitative studies examining parent-reported barriers and facilitators to accessing and participating in support services. A systematic search identified 18 articles that met inclusion criteria. Resulting thematic analysis located three themes: (a) support service accessibility, (b) diversity of support services, and (c) community. Parents reported that financial pressures, geographic location, and service flexibility influenced their ability to obtain support services. Implications for service delivery and areas for future research are discussed.

Most autism research has been conducted in high-income countries, with participants typically from White, upper-middle-income families. Given the disparities experienced by autistic individuals living in underserved communities globally, there is a critical need for research to include individuals from culturally, linguistically, socioeconomically, and geographically diverse backgrounds to understand their unique needs. Qualitative research has the potential to describe the "lived experience" of families historically underrepresented in the autism literature. Here we describe the logistical and methodological challenges of conducting focus group discussions with 22 caregivers of young autistic children living in Cape Town, South Africa. Logistical challenges included (1) recruitment, (2) response rate, and (3) resource access. Methodological challenges included (1) participant background and experiences, (2) interpersonal dynamics, and (3) research ethics. We present recommendations based on lessons learned to reduce these challenges and improve rigorous qualitative research practices in similar low-resource contexts.

The phenomenon of teenage motherhood is a major concern worldwide. The teenage mothers endure many challenges that could affect their academic goals and successes if there is insufficient support. However, some teenage mothers manage to develop certain forms of flexibility to manage these adversities. This study explored the teenage mothers' resiliency in overcoming adversities in pregnancy and early motherhood at a rural high school in South Africa. Within the Interpretative Phenomenological qualitative paradigm, an exploratory case study research design was adopted. 10 participants (N=10) were selected from a rural high school district using a purposive sampling technique. The study employed semi-structured interviews to collect data. The findings demonstrated that teenage mothers were resilient to continuing and completing their schooling by adopting self-motivation and school and family support. This study suggested that the South African Department of Education should develop a training programme for teenage mothers on psychosocial adjustment mechanisms to help them cope with their situations.

Background: This qualitative study examined apartheid-era South Africa, from 1948 to 1994, which established social and administrative policies that deliberately curtailed the education of Indigenous and other South Africans as a means of oppressing non-European ethnic groups. Analysis: In lieu of face-to-face interviews, the experience of education under apartheid is examined through stories and interviews submitted to the Apartheid Archives Project, curated by the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The central question asks how the personal experiences of an oppressive school system, as interpreted through the framework of Freirean education, informs school leaders. Conclusion: Oppression infiltrates school systems, impinges on the educational process, and robs students of learning opportunities. In recognizing this, educators engage their responsibility as school leaders, and embrace the pivotal role education plays in social reconstruction, liberation, and humanization.

This scientometric study examines the overall research trends, publication and citation structures, authorship and collaboration patterns, bibliographic coupling, and productivity patterns in the field of social support in education. Bibliometric data consisting of 545 documents was retrieved from the Scopus database during a period of 43 years (1977-2020) on 1 January 2021. Data analysis was performed using various scientometric software including MS Excel, VOS Viewer, Biblioshiny, CiteSpace and ScientoPy. The results of the study revealed that the first publication on this topic appeared in 1977, however, the major increase was observed during 2017-2020, whereas the maximum number of publications (N = 57) in a single year was published in the year 2020. Similarly, the highest number of citations (n = 1002) were observed in the year 1995 with an average of 334 citations per document. The most productive countries were the United States (N = 194), the United Kingdom (N = 56), and Australia (N = 50 publications). Results further indicated that more than 50.7% of the research in the social support area was done in medicine. Overall, the findings of the study reveal that most of the research in the aforementioned field originated from the developed countries which can be related to the developments in the medical field. The study indicates the importance of social support in the educational context due to an increased trend of inclusion and diversity in the education field. This research is the first bibliometric study in the field of social support in education.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to the teaching and learning arena and posed challenges to efforts to support student performance. The study aims to identify challenges faced during online tutoring and ways to continue to support the tutoring function to teach and disseminate knowledge to students during lockdown. The study was conducted within a faculty in a higher education institution in South Africa using interviews of lecturers and tutors who were purposively selected. Thematic analysis was used to draw out themes on the challenges faced, support provided and suggestions to improve tutoring in online/blended learning. The study exposed several challenges, including internet connectivity, inadequate knowledge on the use of online platforms, lack of clear guidelines for tutors, disconnect with the students and lecturers on a personal level, insufficient internet data, and students' lack of participation and interest. Further findings supported the need for more innovative strategies in the areas of tutor professional development, standardisation of processes and information, regular tutor-lecturer interactions, and the establishment of a community of practice for tutors that feature peer mentoring and support. These findings provide evidence to inform targeted strategies to support tutors in the blended learning space.

Higher Education Institutions in South Africa continue to experience considerable dropout rates of students during the first year, especially those from previously marginalised population groups. The aim of this research was to evaluate how the use of life coaching interventions providing first year students with psychosocial support, influenced their first-year experience. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected through a questionnaire at the end of the academic year, approximately four months after the intervention, to evaluate students' experiences of the intervention. Results indicate that students felt that the intervention helped them avoid dropping out of university prematurely, respond better to failure during the year, and improve their self-awareness and academic performance. In conclusion, the results suggest that the use of life coaching intervention as a proactive means of harnessing student agency, may be beneficial to their academic performance, and in improving their lives in general. The study recommends that further research be conducted to explore the use of small group life coaching for providing students with psychosocial support, and also explore this intervention's cost-effectiveness in different contexts.

The University of Pretoria (UP) began offering formal academic student support in 2011 when the first faculty student advisor (FSA) was appointed. Although many more FSAs were subsequently appointed, assistance to all the students in need of support remained insufficient. However, financial assistance through the collaboration grant received from the Department of Higher Education and Training in 2018 made it possible to explore new areas of support. The UP was able to pilot four innovations due to the availability of additional funds.These included generic workshops across faculties; the creation of a hub in the library, which served as a common contact point for students requiring assistance; the appointment of peer advisors; and a Buddy Programme for first-year students. This article explains the Buddy Programme as perceived by the senior students who mentored the first-year students. The mentors are known as "big buddies". Our work on this programme is based on Tinto's (1975) ideas about social integration. The Buddy Programme was introduced to assist first-year students in their transition from school to university life. This paper highlights the challenges that first-year students faced and it explains how the concepts could become institutionalised once university activities have been normalised in the post-pandemic future.

This qualitative study explored caregivers' perceptions of factors influencing early childhood development in low-income, urban South African settings, from a social ecological perspective. Individual interviews were conducted with 15 caregivers of 3-5-year-old children; a reflexive thematic analysis approach was adopted. In the family and home context, caregivers spoke about their role in developing, nurturing, providing, protecting and disciplining their children. Risks included low socioeconomic status, dysfunctional relationships and caregiver mental health; resources related to early learning and social support. In the preschool/school context, caregivers discussed the value of early learning, and priorities for selecting early childhood care and education settings. Community risks included violence and crime; resources mentioned were social support, community programmes and infrastructure. The social ecological model provides a holistic and contextually relevant perspective for understanding multiple factors (risks and protective factors) influencing early childhood development in low-income South African settings.

This study examines how socio-political divisions--particularly race/ethnicity and religion--were related to democratic civic engagement (DCE) in three divided societies: Northern Ireland (NI), South Africa (SA), and the United States (US). Adolescents exposed to well-evaluated, parallel civics curricula reported significantly greater civic engagement in SA than in the US; those in the US reported significantly greater engagement than those in NI. Within NI, Protestants and Catholics did not report different engagement levels; in SA, black and coloured groups expressed greater civic engagement than whites; in the US, white students expressed greater civic engagement than those from more marginalised groups. Analyses of aspects of DCE led us to conclude that varied social and political realities, histories, legacies of division, and power dynamics helped explain these results. Understanding such societal forces is critical for educators who seek to promote youth to become thoughtful and ethical civic actors.

This synthesis of 30 qualitative studies examined young people's views on pornography related to their sexual health. Synthesis revealed pornography use is considered normal by young people, reinforced by its usefulness as a tool for pleasure, information, and instruction in the absence of sufficient sexuality education. However, youth can become distressed by misogynistic, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or violent pornography content. Youth lack spaces to discuss pornography with trusted adults, leaving them to manage their use without support and potentially leading to harmful attitudes and unrealistic expectations about sex. Implications include the need for additional research and increased access to inclusive sexuality education.

With the dawn of a constitutional democracy, South Africa has enacted contentious policies, such as outlawing capital punishment and legalizing same-sex marriage. Within the educational environment, the religious education (RE) and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) polices remain the most controversial to date. A comparative analysis of their overriding objectives suggests the two policies coincide in terms of their purpose (e.g. protecting the rights of religious and sexual minority groups), reform (conscientizing learners about the oppression of othered groups), and action (instilling inclusivity and diversity in religious and sexuality education). Yet, despite the two policies' corresponding position toward oppression encountered by minorities, the analysis shows some schools privilege the implementation of one policy over another. For example, the orthodox position taken by some faith-based schools in removing the teaching of sexuality diversity, and replacing it with religious studies. On the other hand, the analysis also shows that learners from both religious and sexual minority groups (e.g. queer Muslim youth), outside of faith-based schools, may face compounded forms of oppression based on religious, gender and sexual minority status. The analysis explores this sometimes conflicting intersection of religion, gender and sexuality, while suggesting new directions for future studies in RE and CSE.

Well-being is realised through the interaction of the individual's desires and capacities, and external contexts. Contexts in postcolonial societies diverge from the assumptions of functioning liberal democratic states and capitalist economies often assumed in theories of schooling. Instead, these contexts are characterised by poverty and inequality, cultural diversity, and ongoing projects of state and nation-building. Through case studies of two rural communities in India and South Africa, this paper analyses the role of postcolonial contexts in shaping well-being opportunities through schooling in these contexts. It highlights the contested nature of this relationship in cultural, economic, and political spheres.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated a shift to remote working for previously office-based employees in South Africa, impacting employee outcomes such as well-being. The remote work trend is expected to continue even post the pandemic, necessitating for organizational understanding of the factors impacting employee well-being. Using the Job Demands-Resources model as the theoretical framework, this study aims to understand the role of job demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being in the pandemic context. Design/methodology/approach: A self-administered online survey questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data about remote workers' (n = 204) perceptions of specifically identified demands, resources and employee well-being. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation and moderated hierarchical regression were used to analyse the data. Findings: This study found that job demands in the form of work-home conflict were associated with reduced employee well-being. Resources, namely, job autonomy, effective communication and social support were associated with increased employee well-being. Job autonomy was positively correlated to remote work frequency, and gender had a significant positive association to work-home conflict. Social support was found to moderate the relationship between work-home conflict and employee well-being. Findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work-home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. This study advances knowledge on the role of demands and resources as predictors of employee well-being of remote workforces during COVID-19 and beyond. Originality/value: This paper provides insight on employee well-being during COVID-19 remote work. Further, the findings suggest that organizations looking to enhance the well-being of their remote workforce should implement policies and practices that reduce the demands and increase the resources of their employees. The significant association of gender to work-home conflict suggests that greater interventions are required particularly for women. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study carried out to explore the employee well-being during COVID-19 pandemic and will be beneficial to stakeholders for understanding the factors impacting employee well-being.

Research Findings: Community-based playgroups in low-and-middle-income countries increase access to early learning at lower cost than centers. However, evidence of effectiveness is limited. The effects of one, two, or three playgroup sessions per week on children's performance on the Early Learning Outcome Measure (ELOM) (n = 112; baseline M = 55.32 months) were investigated using a quasi-experimental design. Data on children's home learning environments was obtained from primary caregivers, and program staff provided information on playgroup characteristics. Multilevel modeling demonstrated significant differences between programs in ELOM score improvement over eight months participation (F = 6.48; p = 0.01); Fisher LSD Post Hoc pairwise comparisons indicated that three session playgroups produced significantly greater gains than two and one session models (p < 0.01). ELOM Total scores at baseline, and the quality of children's interactions with adults and peers, predicted growth in ELOM Total scores by endline. Baseline age, height-for-age, child-practitioner ratio, and caregiver time for activities with their children, predicted growth in certain ELOM domains at endline. Practice or Policy: Until provision of quality center-based provision is realized, our findings indicate that well-designed community-based playgroups of sufficient dose, have the potential to improve learning outcomes and school readiness in children from poor households.

The study explored the lived experiences of online teaching by first time online lecturers in institutions of higher education in South Africa during COVID-19. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Findings show positive and negative experiences influenced by variables related to personality, technology, workload and physical teaching environment among others. Personality traits like fear of risks, attitudes to online teaching, emotional management skills serve to model experiences. Participants with negative attitude towards online teaching and low emotional intelligence generally had negative experiences of online teaching exacerbated by a lack of technical and psycho-social support. Positive experiences were found to be a result of positive attitude towards change, positive emotional intelligence and access to different kinds of support. This group experienced high levels of job satisfaction and positive online teaching experiences. Understanding lecturers' experiences is thus crucial in establishing best practices in online teaching which ensure job satisfaction and quality of teaching.

Gender equity among South African principals remains a compelling issue for research. While post-apartheid governmental policies address gender equality, women continue to experience discrimination in the field. A theory of intersectionality was used to examine three Indian South African women's leadership experiences. The focus was to investigate how the women negotiated obstacles in their work. The project involved semi-structured interviews, and the results yielded a contribution to the small body of literature employing intersectionality theory as well as the research around female principals experiences in South Africa. The findings revealed the impact intersections of gender, class and race had on the women within environments of domination and discrimination among family and their colleagues at work. Themes of family values, class, and Indian culture illustrated how powerful cultural and societal practices continue to promote patriarchal perceptions. Women as leaders were questioned, as the women experienced discrimination, stereotyping, and emotional abuse within family and work environments. In their efforts to overcome barriers to the principalship, the women relied on their leadership styles to promote relational 'power with' models of leadership.

Children in low-income communities are at risk for developmental delays and sensory losses. mHealth screening tools enable community health workers to detect developmental delays and sensory losses. This study aims to describe a combined (developmental and sensory -- hearing and vision) mHealth-supported screening programme conducted by community healthcare workers with children aged four-six years (n = 63) at early childhood development centres in a low-income community. Early childhood development practitioners (n = 5) assisted with developmental screening. Referral rates were 30% (n = 19) for development, 6% (n = 4) for hearing and 5% (n = 3) for vision. The average screening time for combined screenings was 11.72 min (SD 3.45 min). Post screening questionnaires probing participants' perspectives and experiences of the combined screening were positive. A combined mHealth-supported screening programme conducted by community health workers and early childhood development practitioners appears viable, supporting early detection of developmental delays and sensory losses in children from low-income communities.

The advent of democracy in South Africa triggered notable reforms to the financing of quality education, and curriculum design and innovation. The ulterior motive behind this study was to underscore the correlation between inadequate financial resources and learners' achievement. School finance reform was found to contribute to learner achievement and was viewed as a building block of every discourse related to equity. In the Eastern Cape (EC) province, the dismal percentage of Grade 12 learners who achieve success in gateway subjects, as reflected in the National Senior Certificate Examination results, was linked to the grossly inequitable distribution of funding and even the defunding of education. The 3 high schools in question were stigmatised as chronic underachievers, having reported a 0% pass rate for 5 successive years. Establishing an intervention programme to finance quality education for schools in poverty-stricken communities was an arduous undertaking. Although the windfall was temporary, it was construed as the dawn of a new age of philanthropy. The project spurred the development of local education finance to motivate South Africa's "Dinaledi" (stars).

The growth of technology has impacted billions of lives by allowing people to connect with others through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Skype, WhatsApp, and so on. Despite the advantages of technology, there has been notable resistance from employees, especially the older generations, who are not eager to adopt social media technologies into their everyday lives. The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of culture in the adoption of social media by employees in Mafikeng. A questionnaire was utilized to collect data from 252 employees across various government and non-government departments around the Mafikeng business area. The findings revealed the cultural factors that influence employees' adoption of social media platforms, employees' readiness to adopt social media, and the impacts of culture on social media adoption by employees.

An extensive body of research exists on the background characteristics that predict learner achievement. However, in South Africa, little attention has been paid to the level of educational aspirations and the factors that shape the level of aspirations. Using a bio-ecological systems theory of development, we explored the role of gender, socio-economic status (determined by resources at home and school), parental involvement and school climate in determining educational aspirations. Using a nationally representative sample of 11,969 learners (females = 5,248; mean age = 15.7 years) from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the statistical analysis technique of structural equation modelling (SEM), we investigated the relationships between parental involvement, school climate and learner educational aspirations. Our study showed that students from low socio-economic status (SES) homes and schools had lower educational aspirations. We also found positive relationships between both positive and negative school climate and learner aspirations. A surprising finding was that parental involvement did not have any influence on shaping learner aspirations. The findings indicate a need to improve educational resources at schools as well as the school climate, as schools matter for learners in low-income countries. Furthermore, it is important to inform learners of the requirements for tertiary education, so that they develop more realistic aspirations.

The main focus of the study was to explore the involvement of stakeholders in promoting the wellness of juvenile offenders in South African correctional schools. Two teachers and three juveniles were purposefully selected to complete open ended questionnaires from two juvenile centres in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The major aim of the study was to identify how different stakeholders can facilitate the attainment of wellness among juvenile offenders. The "ubuntu" and wellness theories were used as lenses to carry out the study. Research ethic procedures were followed. In order to get livid experience of participants, qualitative method was used to collect and analyse data. Findings revealed that stakeholder involvement varied with some being more involved while others were lacking. This compromised effective rehabilitation. It was recommended that the involvement of stakeholders should be intensified in order to have a greater impact on the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.

This paper reports on a study that integrated two instant messaging applications (Moya Messenger App and WhatsApp) and a myUnisa's online discussion forum (ODF), and utilised them as tools to support student learning at an open and distance e-learning university in South Africa. The participants in this study were 41 undergraduate education students enrolled for an undergraduate English Studies module. Employing a case study research design, the study utilised voluntary sampling to select its participants, and set out to answer three research questions. Data were collected through the three afore-mentioned tools. To this effect, the study made the following observations. First, both the instructor and students were able to engage in asynchronous and synchronous scaffolding using Moya Messenger App. This included engaging in features of scaffolding such as orientation, coaching, conceptual scaffolding and meta-cognitive scaffolding, largely by the instructor. Second, the instructor used Moya Messener App to engage in presence teaching, while students utilised it to engage in presence learning. Third, students utilised WhatsApp to produce short synchronous formal essays based on a compare and contrast essay writing activity. Fourth and last, students used myUnisa's ODF to produce meta-content reflective writing about the module.