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The problem addressed in this theoretical paper is that of learners and educators as agents of social transformation in dysfunctional schools of South Africa. While 80% of South African schools are said to be dysfunctional, learners and educators in these schools can be activated to challenge and actively struggle against any form of social oppression that dehumanises and renders them failures. Educators can work in collaboration with learners to conscientize the latter so that they are able to question different forms of inequalities and discrimination implicit in the curriculum offered at school, which excludes their cultural learning experiences. This paper argues that township and rural school educators and learners can become social agents for change if they are exposed to critical pedagogy which fosters emancipatory methods of teaching and learning. Consequently, structural factors surrounding the South African education system must be addressed if learner performance in dysfunctional schools is to improve.

The term "social justice" cuts across disciplines and theoretical orientations. Critical theory underpinned the study reported on in this article. Many South African schools, particularly in poverty stricken communities, still experience insurmountable economic and social injustices despite progress since the apartheid regime. The injustices manifest in poverty, inequalities and unequal distribution of educational resources, impacting on the achievement gap. While social justice is a concern in the literature, South African literature has little on how to apply the concept of a learning organisation to reclaim a commitment to social justice. The article argues that schools perceived as learning organisations are sites of social and political struggle that can promote and encourage human rights to fundamental freedoms for all, without discrimination. This requires progressive teachers and critical thinking by students to transform dehumanising social milieus into communities of participation embodying the values of progress and human emancipation.

In a shrinking world, in which a neo-liberal discourse has permeated sub-Saharan African higher education, critical reflection is required to assess the merits and demerits of globalisation. Research, intensive discussion and hearings conducted over a two-year period by the Task Force on Higher Education and Society, convened by the World Bank and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the purpose of exploring the future of higher education in the developing world, led to the conclusion that without more and better higher education, developing countries would find it increasingly difficult to benefit from the global knowledge economy. A decade later, we argue for a radical change in the traditional discourse on globalisation because of the emergence of countries such as China, South Africa, India, and Brazil as global players in the world economy. These emerging global powers, reframe the political and imperial philosophy at the epicentre of globalisation discourse--an economic creed, through their mutual consultation and coordination on significant political issues. Their economic and military capabilities enable them to influence the trade regime and thereby strengthen the voice of the developing world as a whole. In relation to this paper's inquiry, the cooperation of these emerging powers gives the free enfranchised people of the world an opportunity to choose a different path of international relations (internationalisation) formed on more liberal lines, as opposed to the neo-liberal economic rationality of globalisation. This paper therefore examines globalisation and internationalisation of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa, a field in which increased knowledge production and distribution open up opportunities for users, institutions and societies. Against a background of chronic economic uncertainty we examine the influence of major international institutions on the direction of higher education, in particular teacher education. Drawing on relevant literature and our own experience, reflexively, we argue that the tendency, towards free market regulation ideologies, privileges neo-liberal global knowledge discourses, such that they impose on higher education a need to respond across a range of fields.

There is paucity in the study of learning organisations within the education sector and particularly in schools working in difficult socio-economic contexts, such as those studied in this investigation. In this qualitative study I therefore sought evidence from teachers, in one of the districts of Gauteng province, through in-depth, semi-structured focus group interviews to establish what a learning organisation is. Using data obtained through two in-depth, semistructured focus group interviews with 16 teachers, themes were constructed to theorise their experiences on what a learning organisation is. The results showed that teacher commitment to personal learning enhanced student achievement. This study contributes to the understanding of theories on learning organisations from the experiences of these teachers working in disadvantaged townships schools.

I examine three main issues, which are directly linked to school management developments in South Africa since 1994: school leadership and management; professionalisation of principalship through the South African Standard for School Leadership (SASSL); and leading and managing the learning school. In exploring these issues I draw mainly on a systematic and comprehensive literature review of school leadership, management, and governance, commissioned by the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG). The aim of the desk research was to establish "what is known "and "what still needs to be known" about educational leadership, management, and governance in South Africa. I also draw upon the work of the Education Management Task Team (EMTT), commissioned by the Directorate of Education Management and Governance Development in the National Department of Education. Their work drew upon the South African Schools Act (SASA) and, specifically, the recommendations of the Ministerial Task Team on Educational Management. The EMTT brief was to develop a policy framework for school leadership and management development, training and implementation, and to devise a South African Standard for School Leadership which would inform professional educational leadership programmes, leading to a National Professional Qualification for Principalship (SANPQP). The SASSL would provide a clear role description for principals, set out what is required of principals, and identify key areas of principalship.

This research aims to determine, from the perspectives of municipal workers, how a local municipality in Mpumalanga, South Africa, could enhance service delivery through organisational justice. As a concept, organisational justice refers to employees' perceptions of the fairness of organisational rules and policies, their actions and attitudes about their work, and their confidence in or mistrust of management. We contend that maintaining organisational justice may help resolve various delivery service issues. Guided by the social exchange theory (SET), municipal workers' opinions were accessed through a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews were used as data collection tools. The collected data were examined iteratively and critically. It was found that Municipal employees thought a just workplace was calm, where management distributed resources equally to all employees (distributive justice), applied policies and procedures consistently (procedural justice), provided truthful justifications for all decisions made (informational justice), and engaged in quality interpersonal interaction with all employees while putting organisational procedures into practice (interactional justice). However, processed data indicated that there was a disparity in resource distribution, a lack of transparency and participatory decision-making processes, a deficiency in information provision, and a culture of dismissiveness among municipal officials in the municipality. All these factors hindered effective service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Corona virus pandemic moved our institution from a traditional teacher-centred, one-size-fitsall teaching institution to an online mode of learning. The research question posed is: how did the Corona virus pandemic effect move the traditional teacher-centred approach to online mode of learning in a private institution of higher education in South Africa? A combination of Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework and inter pretiveaction research were employed to explain what the faculty did in response to the effects of Corona virus and national lockdown in our institution. We found that the poorest students were the most affected, especially with regards to internet access and online learning resources. We also found that private-public university partnerships could enable access to laptops and Internet for all our students. We recommend that small, private institutions of higher education such as ours, should not be complacent with one mode of curriculum delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black and minority ethnic leaders (BMEL) are greatly under-represented in English schools. About nine percent of pupils are from minority backgrounds but only five percent of teachers are from BMEL backgrounds and the proportion of leaders is believed to be lower, although national statistics are not available. In post-Apartheid South Africa, the previous racially stratified allocation of teachers to schools in their own communities has been replaced by a nominally non-racial allocation process. However, only a small proportion of educators are engaged in 'cross-boundary' leadership. The article presents findings from a comparative study of BME leaders in England, funded by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), and a parallel study of cross-boundary leadership in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The data show that the reasons for under-representation of BME leaders in England, and the limited cross-boundary leadership in South Africa, are remarkably similar. While cultural factors are powerful in both countries, there is also evidence of racism and discrimination, leading to discomfort and alienation for black leaders. The paper concludes that these problems serve to inhibit integration in both countries and to prevent BME leaders in England, and black leaders in South Africa, from achieving their full potential and acting as powerful role models for black students in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]