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Mathematical geometrical (MG) concept is often perceived as abstract and difficult to understand by students at the TVET College. Students are unable to perform well in Mathematic Assessments Tasks specifically on this concept. Drawing from this is the declining percentages of student enrolments in mathematics at National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 2. The aim of this study was to enhance the teaching and learning of Mathematical Geometry through the integration of indigenous knowledge in the form of a pilot-practical assessment task (PAT). The research team made use of focus group discussions to gather empirical data. Students were given the practical assessment task that incorporated indigenous knowledge to close the gap of students being unable to relate the mathematical geometry taught in the classroom to their everyday lives that seemed to prevail amongst mathematics students at a TVET College. Ten co-researchers were homogeneously selected based on their level of experience in teaching mathematical geometry at a TVET college located in the Afromontane communities of Thabo Mofutsanyane municipality, South Africa. The result indicated that indigenous knowledge can be utilized as an effective way of learning and teaching mathematical geometry at the TVET college.

Observation and experience exist among university students during COVID-19 new normal; the quality and the process of academic activities have been compromised. This study, therefore, examines the lacuna on whether the new normal is more productive by ensuring that the intention of the curriculum towards students' content knowledge is met or not. Organisational change theory was used to theorise the study within the transformative paradigm (TP) and participatory Research (PR) lenses as a research design. The study was conducted in one of the universities in South Africa. Ten students were selected using the convenience sampling technique because the students were not fully on campus as of the time of this study. The online interview was adopted to collect data because of social distancing rules across the country. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. The findings revealed that the COVID-19 new normal does not affect students' academic performance negatively even though the quality of content delivery is low. The channels of teaching-learning and the Internet of Things are deduced to be unpleasant for the students with recommendations that there is a need to provide the internet-or-things alongside training and retraining for students and lecturers.

Although the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education and mental health of the university environment is relatively unknown, it is expected to be very significant considering the high incidence of emotional reactions amongst university students and staff. While fears around COVID-19 exposure, anxieties, and the challenges of support normalize stress, anxiety, and depression as emotional reactions in the face of the pandemic, this psychosocial impact has negative consequences for the university community. Thus, in order to salvage the higher education institutions from the debilitating effects of the pandemic, there is a clear need to safeguard the welfare of students and staff. Hence, it becomes vital to examine the experience of members of the university community during the COVID-19 crisis in order to develop measures and implement interventions that will assist in navigating psychosocial challenges. Underpinned by Hettler's model of holistic wellness which was developed to promote wellness in the university community settings, the study employed a mixed-method research approach in which data was collected using web-based survey and online interviews. Concurrent triangulation sampling technique was employed to select a sample of fifteen students, five university managers, and five lecturers -- making twenty-five respondents at each of the two universities, thus making a cumulative total of fifty at two rural universities in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Thus, quantitative and qualitative data collected were analysed concurrently by first reporting the quantitative findings and then comparing them with qualitative findings. Findings revealed that although the university environment traditionally provided opportunities for strengthening social ties which satisfy the universal need to belong to a community, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered rural university life, thus, significantly impacting on psychosocial wellbeing. The study recommends that rural institutions must facilitate psychosocial wellness programming with the assistance of wider stakeholders such as the government and the private sector who can assist in financing this initiative.

The advent of COVID-19 and its implication on university education has been the bone of contention in recent times. The COVID-19 emergency has led to a change in knowledge inputs, processes, and outputs. This trajectory has demotivated student approaches to their learning. In response to this revolution, this study provides motivational strategies through students' perspectives to respond to the underside of new normal among South African university students. Ubuntu underpins the study within the Transformative Paradigm lens and Participatory Research as a research design. Ten students of a particular module in a selected university in South Africa were chosen to participate in the study. They were selected using the snowballing sampling technique because the participants were under level 3 lockdown with little or no access to campus at the time of the study. Online interview via phone calls, email and WhatsApp, was conducted with the students, and the data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. The study revealed a lack of visualised physical engagement between students and their lecturers and unstable internet access and lack of the internet as the major challenges. The study, therefore, recommends solutions that there should be adequate provision of effective online audio-visual sessions with enough space for student-lecturer's interactions and low-tech online sessions and content deliveries.

The trajectory of students' unrest in Nigeria universities has been linked to the underside of modernity. By responding to this, the study explores conditions necessary to decolonise the mindset of university authorities and students, against modernity as an offshoot of students' unrest. Ubuntu philosophy rationalised the study while Transformative Paradigm lensed the process with the use of Participatory Action Research design. The study involved ten co-researchers, three university management staff, three students' leaders, two security personnel and two university lecturers were selected using Convenient Sampling Technique. Focus Group Discussion was employed to generate data, and the data were subjected to Conversational Analysis to make sense of the data. Students' involvement in decision-making, democratic and facilitative leadership style, were found as tools to decolonise the space of students' unrest as an underside of modernity. The reconstruction of the university system against social unrest emanating from modernity becomes expedient through Ubuntu cum decoloniality.

The university system in Nigeria has been characterised by persistent social unrest traceable to strained relationships between students and the university authorities. Observations, reports and literature confirm that students' unrest in the universities has become a clog in the wheel of development and speedy actualisation of university goals and objectives. The need to manage and maintain the social space for relative peace and tranquility thereof is expedient. This study aims at redefining students and university authority relationships as a tool to deconstructing students' unrest in Nigerian universities. Human Relations Theory of Management (HRTM) was used to theorise this study while Transformative Paradigm (TP), which was adopted as a stance to forestall existing and future unrest was used to lens the study. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was adopted as a research design for the study. The sample size for this study consists of 10 participants: three student leaders, three university management members, two lecturers and two security personnel were selected using expert sampling techniques. Focused Group Discussion (FGD) was used to collect data from the participants, and the data collected were analysed using Socio-thematic Analysis (StA). This study reveals that inadequate funding is a significant challenge resulting in students' unrest. Contrarily, the provision of student personnel services along with modern maintenance culture, transparency and accountability were found to be the dimension of peaceful university operation devoid of social unrest and therefore becomes a tool to deconstruct the strained relationship between students and the university authorities.

The study examined the relationship between activities of trade unions and management of tertiary institutions in a bid to provide empirical solution to the lingering industrial actions by the staff unions in various tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The population comprises all tertiary institutions in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Four hundred and fifty subjects consisted of 390 members of unions that were selected using proportionate sampling techniques and 60 top management staff of the selected institutions was selected purposively. Two self-designed instruments namely, "Trade Unions and management of Tertiary Institutions Questionnaire" (TUMTIQ) and "Management of Tertiary Institutions Questionnaire (MTIQ)" were used to collect relevant data from the subjects. The researchers and another expert in educational management and test and measurement did the face and content validity. In addition, the test-retest method of reliability was adopted with a reliability coefficient of 0.66 and 0.72 respectively. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics and the three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between activities of trade unions and leadership style of management of tertiary institutions. The study also showed that there was a significant relationship between trade unions' dissatisfaction with conditions of service and management of tertiary institutions. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that management of tertiary institutions should adopt a leadership style that is all-inclusive through a participatory system of management. Government should also provide funding for management to enhance conditions of service in the form of a better pay package, in-service training, overseas trips and their welfare packages for staff.

This study critically examines teaching-learning as a means of actualising the tenet of the infusion of democracy and human rights in the subject Life Orientation in the classroom in all levels of education (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary) in South Africa. The study focuses on three established approaches namely teaching and learning as collaborative knowledge construction, teaching and learning as a critical reasoning process, and teaching and learning as a disruptive caring pedagogy in a bid to exterminate the old or traditional ways of teaching and learning, which were perceived as anti-democratic education. Experiential and dialogical teaching methods as one of the effective ways in which the infusion of democracy and human rights could be implemented in the Life Orientation curriculum are also examined in a bid to fulfil the objectives of Life Orientation, transform schooling and the school system, and develop the society through education. This study further recommends the use of teaching-learning, which is known as a disruptive caring pedagogy, as the most inclusive approach. Likewise the use of both experiential Problem Based Learning and dialogical teaching methods are recommended.

This study examines the practices involved in student-teacher relationships vis-à-vis its correlational effect on academic performance of secondary school students in an attempt to suggest solutions to the lingering problems affecting secondary school students' academic performance in Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted and the population comprised all public secondary schools in Nigeria. Through homogenous sampling, 300 respondents were selected from the sampled schools. Two self-designed instruments, the "Student-Teacher Relationship Questionnaire (STRQ)" and the "Students Academic Performance Questionnaire (SAPQ)" were used to collect relevant data from the respondents. The face and content validity were done and the test-retest method of reliability was adopted to test the reliability of the instruments. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and Inferential Statistics and the three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed a significant correlation between the student-teacher relationships and academic performance of students in secondary schools. It also indicated that classroom engagement and motivation were significantly related to students' academic performance. The study recommends that teachers should be regularly trained and equipped with classroom engagement skills, and that they should furthermore be equipped through development programmes to develop various motivational strategies for better students' academic performance, among others.

Purpose: This study explores the challenges teachers face in their classroom management roles which are essential for fostering a supportive learning environment. It investigates teachers' roles in implementing management strategies and the obstacles hindering their effectiveness in high schools. Design/Methodology/Approach: The present study used semi-structured interviews to collect data from twelve Grade 10 teachers in three selected secondary schools located in the Ekurhuleni North District of Gauteng Province, South Africa. The data were interpreted using a phenomenological research design and interpretive paradigm. The study was based on ecological systems theory. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of the data. Findings: The study revealed that key roles of teachers in effective classroom management include appropriate classroom language, acting as managers and self-criticism and evaluation of performance. However, challenges such as insufficient teaching and learning resources and the low academic ability of learners impede the fulfilment of these roles. Conclusion: The study finds that continuous self-criticism and evaluation are critical for improving teaching and learning processes, although teachers play a critical role in monitoring classrooms and resolving difficulties imposed by low academic competence. Recommendations: Recommendations include comprehensive training and support for teachers, the implementation of diverse teaching strategies and a holistic consideration of the ecological system encompassing both learners and teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses potential conflicts during collaborative tasks among university undergraduate students and presents strategies to mitigate such conflicts at a university in South Africa. Drawing on the unique context of South Africa, characterised by its rich cultural diversity and historical challenges, Social Identity Theory (SIT) was used to theorise the study within a transformative paradigm, qualitative approach and participatory research design. Ten undergraduate students were sampled and interviewed. Thematic analysis was employed to make sense of the data. The study found that a lack of a culture of open dialogue and clear guidelines and expectations leads to conflict, and the study also found that promoting a culture of open dialogue and establishing clear guidelines and expectations during collaborative projects can help prevent potential conflicts among university undergraduate students during collaborative engagement. The study concludes that promoting a culture of open dialogue and fostering establishing clear guidelines and expectations provide undergraduate students with the tools to manage group conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying is a global social phenomenon that negatively affects learners' psychological functioning, social life, and academic performance. This challenge is notable among senior phase learners in Amathole East secondary schools in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This study responds to the problem by exploring the challenges and possible solutions for managing bullying among senior phase learners. Lensing through Social Cognitive Theory, the qualitative study adopted interpretivism paradigm, a case study design, and recorded in-depth interviews were used to collect data from the participants. 15 participants (1 principal, 4 teachers, as well as 10 learners) were sampled using purposive sampling technique. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected from the participants. This study revealed that government laws, vindictive learners, antisocial learners and defensive parents, teachers not following up bullying cases, and community crime are the challenges stakeholders face in managing bullying. This study acknowledged that victims must be protected by placing police officers and security, offering moral and sexuality education, building a constant relationship with learners' parents and guardians, and encouraging socialization through the involvement and placement of social workers in a school setting. The study concluded that regardless of internal school stakeholder's endeavors to manage bullying, it remains impossible for bullying and its ramifications to be addressed by an individual stakeholder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]