Editorial

Abstract

Perspectives in Education (PIE) seeks to stimulate important dialogue and intellectual exchange on education and democratic transitions with respect to schools, colleges, non-governmental organisations, universities and universities of technology in South Africa and globally. In this issue, we foreground discourses on topical issues in the provisioning of schooling in South Africa and in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In the opening article by Doniwen Pietersen on Pedagogy of care in online teaching and learning environments at tertiary institutions, the author argues that whereas several of the technological platforms adopted during the Covid-19 lockdown had the potential to reach more students, they had also overloaded educators and pupils. It is argued that the role of university teachers should be reflected not only by the number of students engaged in class content, but also by the embodied cultural capital that students bring to online, face-to-face and hybrid learning spaces.

In the same vein, Desiree Moodley in her capacity as a writing consultant, critically reflects on the dialogue around the adopting Universal Design for Learning framework at higher education institutions in South Africa, and its implications for writing centres and for meeting individual students’ learning needs.

In the third article on students’ experiences with stories as lenses for sense-making, Deborah Lees discusses the experiences of first-year university students using storytelling as a lens to reveal identity, and to better understand their transition from school to university. Staying with the theme of student experiences at university, Róan Slabbert analysed peer-assisted learning (PAL), which over the years have been subjected to ongoing development and ultimately implementation into many so-called 'high-risk' programmes. Slabbert concluded that a statistically significant difference was found in the overall comparison between the pre- and post-intervention results after the dependent t-test was performed. Staying with education and the Covid19 pandemic, Ramgovind, Valashiya and Pramjeeth discuss Educational resources leveraged by students at a Private Higher Education Institution during the Covid-19 pandemic. They found that by understanding the educational resources (i.e. human, material and financial) that were leveraged by students during Covid-19, PHEIs can streamline decision-making regarding operations, assistance provided to students, and manage online learning in a manner that mitigates pitfalls should events similar to the pandemic occur.

Transitioning from university to the world of work is an often-neglected research area. In this section of PIE, we start by looking at beginner teachers transitioning from university graduates to fully legitimate participants in the teaching profession.  Ruben Abraham, Stephen Daniels and Lucinda Du Plooy offer an insightful view on how a formal mentoring programme can assist students in the transitioning from university graduates into school practitioners. Keeping with the topic of transitioning, Dale Langsford asks the important question on how pedagogically focused conversations enable pre-service teachers to make sense of observed teaching. Moving into the classroom situation, Jacqueline Goldin, and Carolina Suransky report on their research where through there engagement with citizen science, they experienced the transformative power of affect and the relevance of emotions in education as a social and political project.  In the next article, we explore the relationship between the philosophy of ubuntu and the principles of inclusive education. In their analyses, Jabulani Mpofu and Maximus Sefotho found that there is a very strong relationship between the philosophy of ubuntu and the principles of inclusive education.

In the next cluster of articles, we move into the classroom situation. In the first of this series, Ottilia Goto and Jameson Goto look at Secondary school students' perceptions of the 21st-century teaching of critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation (4Cs) in Zimbabwe. Their findings highlight the need for teachers to embed critical thinking and creativity activities within collaborative and communication learning activities. In the next article, Fungirai Mudhefi, Koena Mabotja and Dimakatjo Muthelo analysed the use of Van Hiele’s geometric thinking model to interpret Grade 12 learners’ learning difficulties in Euclidean Geometry. They recommend that educators should use constructivist teaching approaches that encourage learners’ conceptual understanding instead of traditional methods that promote rote memorisation of geometric facts.  The third in this cluster is an article by Bongumusa Gubevu and it examines geography teachers’, parents’ and learners’ understanding and experiences of the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the teaching of that subject.

A number of articles explore different management-related topics. First, Jama, Buka, Naidoo, and Moloi report on research into school support stakeholders’ perceptions in identifying learning barriers and reported that findings revealed insufficient knowledge about the identification of learning barriers. Next, we look at middle leaders pursuing teacher safety against learner victimization. In their research, Darrell de Klerk and June Monica Palmer explore teacher safety against learner victimization, which is a growing concern worldwide, and this problem is exacerbated by a lack of understanding and readiness to implement policies to address this matter. Selaelo Maifala analyses the school management team’s role of defining the school vision and mission at a South African rural school. He concluded that SMT members do not understand that the vision and mission could serve more than a visual purpose and that it must be designed to guide principles to direct smaller objectives within the organisation. Concluding the management section, Jardine, Shaik, and Adendorff reported in their research on the mentoring and to be mentored in Grade R.

The last cluster of articles offers very stimulating and thought-provoking reading on three important topics. First, Obakeng Kagola discusses Foundation Phase male teachers’ experiences of teaching comprehensive sexuality education in the Eastern Cape. Next, we look at the right to education for children with autism in Lesotho as discussed by Mahlape Tseeke and Kelello Alicia Rakolobe. Beausetha Bruwer and Annalene van Staden explore the psychology of teaching deaf learners using the Bilingual-Bicultural approach's theory and application to accommodate the familial and social contexts, language use, and overall development differences among deaf learners and their hearing peers, and among themselves.  The last contribution in this section deals with Foundation Phase learners with visual impairments. Jossie Steyn, Mariette Koen, and Hantie Theron look at a collaborative approach among teachers to support the teaching such learners. The authors describe the research in which teachers were actively involved in the research process, and how teachers contributed to changes that promoted the inclusion and success of Foundation Phase learners with visual impairments.

We close this edition of Perspectives in Education with a thought-provoking article by Nomsa Mnisi and Thokozani Mathebula critically analysing the World Bank’s agenda to reframe inclusive education through its investment projects and inclusive policies. According to the authors this neoliberal approach results in unevenness and social inequalities. and the exclusion of learners in schools. They put forward recommendations to prevent the exclusion of its intended recipients, namely the poor, unprivileged and excluded learners in post-apartheid South African schools and instead to support universal and free public education.

We trust that you will find this edition stimulating and thought-provoking and that the views presented will stimulate discourse and research that will further grow and develop the boundaries of education.

Jan Nieuwenhuis

Editor