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Given the importance of mathematics performance of learners and the challenges in South Africa, it is important that the expertise of all role-players, including the subject advisors who visit the teachers to guide and support them, is used to its full potential. While some studies have explored the experiences of teachers in this regard, literature on the experiences of mathematics subject advisors is scant. Furthermore, little has been published on the experiences of subject advisors within the context of rural areas with a low population, such as the Northern Cape Province. This article addresses the gap by exploring the deeper understanding of mathematics subject advisors’ experiences when conducting school support visits. Taking a qualitative research approach, I conducted semi-structured interviews with six mathematics subject advisors from the four phases (foundation, intermediate, senior, and further education and training) in all five of the education districts of the Northern Cape Department of Education (Frances Baard; Z.F. Mgcwawu; Pixley Ka Seme; Namakwa; and J.T. Gaetsewe). Through Husserl’s phenomenological theoretical framework, complemented with Gibbs’ reflective cycle and Colaizzi’s seven steps of data analysis, participants were found to have had both good and bad experiences when conducting school support visits. Experiences included positive attitudes from educators and schools in general, and good curriculum implementation and teaching and learning practices. However, participants were sometimes received with hostility, and observed poor curriculum implementation and teaching and learning practices. Noteworthy is some negative union influence, lack of specialisation in mathematics by foundation phase departmental heads, lack of coherence in communication, and lack of cooperation and collaboration amongst district officials. If the concerns raised by mathematics subject advisors in this paper are not addressed, these may have a negative impact on the experiences of subject advisors and, by implication, on learner performance as well as education in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Food security is a significant challenge in South Africa, especially for persons with disabilities. This topic is therefore important for educators in the health sciences. Nevertheless, little is known about educators' awareness of the relationship between food security and people with disabilities, or to what extent the topic is included in their curricula or what their attitudes are regarding this topic. Objectives. We explored the knowledge and attitudes of educators pertaining to food security and people with disabilities. We assessed the current teaching practice associated with the food security of people with disabilities in the School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal. Methods. Thirty-five participants completed a cross-sectional online survey. The participants represented diverse disciplines including audiology, occupational therapy, optometry, physiotherapy, speech-language pathology and sports science. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results. The participants had limited self-reported knowledge about the definition of food security. Fewer than 60% of the participants reported a relationship between three of the dimensions of food security and disability, and 80% for one of the dimensions (food utilisation). Of the participants, 88% did not teach food security and disability theoretically, and 80% did not teach it practically. According to the participants, students were not equipped to assess if their clients with disability had food security problems, and were unsure of appropriate interventions. Conclusion. Despite a lack of knowledge, participants had positive attitudes towards including food security into their teaching, although limited teaching existed at the time of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the assessment of the progress made on the provisioning of quality education at selected public schools in Limpopo province. Qualitative research methodology was used as the author was interested in collecting data on the experiences, perceptions, and views of the research participants. Three research instruments for data collection were employed, namely participant observation, document analysis, and interviews. Purposive sampling was used to select participants who were likely to be knowledgeable and experienced on the phenomenon under study. Ten educators were sampled from public primary and secondary schools. The findings revealed that after the 1994 democratic elections in South Africa, few changes on the provisioning of quality education in Limpopo Province happened. The negative attitudes of the educators towards transformational policies, lack of competency of the educators in teaching reading and numeracy, lack of equitable distribution of resources to public schools, and lack of induction and in-service training of educators were amongst the contributing factors hampering effective provisioning of quality education. The author recommends recruitment of highly qualified and experienced educators, induction of newly appointed educators, continuous in-service training and mentoring, and development of guidelines or prescripts on the implementation of education policies as the tools that can enhance the provisioning of quality education at public schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although parent involvement is fundamental for school functioning, the nature and extent of such involvement is debatable and contested amongst stakeholders. A qualitative based study underpinned by the interpretive paradigm was undertaken to explore the voices of educators regarding parent non-involvement and its implications for learner experiences and performance in a disadvantaged community in South Africa. Data was gathered through individual and focus group interviews, involving 3 principals and 12 teachers respectively. The paper is buttressed by Epstein's model of school-family-community partnerships that advocates for genuine collaboration between stakeholders. The findings show that educators' perceptions concerning parent non-involvement do not take into consideration the contextual realities that restrict involvement, and this serves to alienate parents further. The paper also reveals the gap that exist between policy and practice in terms of school-parent relationships. Existing relations, especially in disadvantaged communities emphasizes the need for schools to initiate and implement strategies that are context friendly, taking into consideration challenges experienced by parents. In this regard, empowering teachers on school-parent relationships is a vital ingredient to ensure the initiation and implementation strategies towards a sustainable parent involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Education Before Liberation” became the mantra of the struggle against apartheid oppression in South Africa. Apartheid policies predestined the Black majority to servitude and dehumanization. The advent of democracy heralded a plethora of transformative curriculum policies with the express intent to counter the destiny that the Apartheid regime had envisioned for the Black majority. The current curriculum canon which is premised on the tenets of critical pedagogy espouses the ideals of social justice and democracy, and embodies the intent to educate for liberation and social transformation. This article addresses the central question: How do the material tensions of enacting critical pedagogical tenets manifest in post-apartheid South African education through the narratives of educators as transformative intellectuals? In responding to this enquiry, in this article I will (a) sketch an analysis of teachers’ identities as enshrined in retrospective and current curriculum policies; and (b) draw on data from a qualitative study conducted at schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, to explore educators’ personal and professional narratives of pleasure and pain as they persevere in being transformative intellectuals within disadvantaged school communities in an emerging democracy. This article argues that if the ideals of democracy is central to the curriculum for students, then the education system needs to ensure that the personal and professional wellbeing of teachers should form an integral part of the human rights discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to examine supervisors perceptions on the value of undergraduate research projects at the Zimbabwe Open University. The study used a pretested questionnaire survey targeting 40 (N=40) supervisors and was triangulated with key informant interviews. The supervisors had adequate experience as mentors of the Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Geography and Environmental Studies. The supervisors perceived research projects as a valuable vehicle for the development of independent research skills as it provided learners the opportunity to specialise in areas of their interest. The key indicators for positive perception of the research project were the acknowledgment of the role of the supervisors throughout the research process, and the opportunity to co-publish with the learner. The supervisors believed in a guided -undergraduate research process although some had doubts on the possibility of generating valuable information from research projects that are limited in scope and are not adequately funded. It is recommended that training workshops should be conducted to build the capacity of supervisors through the process of supervising undergraduate research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Technology”, the buzz word for the last ten to fifteen years in South Africa. Technology availability is quite often mistaken for technology adoption and use. Technology has been made available to almost all tertiary institutions and at least some public schools. However, in most tertiary institutions many professors still refuse to use technology to enhance their lectures and many educators in schools have not yet “come on board” in a manner of speaking. The South African government has indicated its intention to ensure that every school has access to a wide choice of diverse, high quality communication services that will benefit all learners and local communities (DOE 2004). It is important that the Department of Basic Education recognizes that regardless of the amount of technology and its sophistication, technology will not be used unless educators have the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to infuse it into the curriculum. The aim of this paper is to determine educators’ attitudes towards technology and thus technology adoption in teaching and learning. In doing so, this study attempted to determine what educators’ attitudes/perceptions (used synonymously) are towards constructs (e.g. relative advantage, perceived behavioural control, complexity) extracted from the different information systems (IS) technology adoption models. Thereafter, regression analysis was used to determine the best predictor of educators’ attitudes and thus technology adoption. The findings of this study suggest that overall the educators perceptions are somewhat positive across most IS constructs with the notable exception of Perceived Behavioural Control and Facilitating Conditions where the mean are below 3.5. The analysis suggests that the independent variables explaining the greatest amount of variance in computer attitudes are in order of predicative value: extrinsic motivation, perceived usefulness, complexity, perceived behavioural control and relative advantage. The results point to the importance of educators’ vision of technology itself, their experiences with it, their perceptions towards computer attributes and the conditions that surround its introduction into schools in shaping their attitudes towards technology and its subsequent diffusion into their educational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's view on pharmacy educators and challenges of their profession in South Africa. He mentions their development of a comprehensive teaching strategy which encourages academic success towards students. An overview of the massification of high education in the country is also presented.