The future of South Africa's economic growth rests on addressing critical scarce-skills labour shortages. Matriculants are called on to break the cycle of poverty by entering the scarce-skills workforce. The demonstration of a high level of mathematics, science, and technology competency is viewed as a gateway towards achieving this goal. The…

No quantitative studies to date have specifically focused on the risk and protective factors for the educational resilience of socioeconomically disadvantaged adolescents who are not of compulsory school age in South Africa. This study compares the educational delay of 599 black adolescents aged 16 to 18 from socioeconomically disadvantaged…

A qualitative based study was undertaken to explore the impact of teacher professional conduct on learner experiences and performance in three poor primary schools in a disadvantaged community in Cape Town, South Africa. Data was gathered through individual and focus-group interviews, observations and document reviews. The paper uses the…

This article sheds light on how non-formal education was used as a tool to provide knowledge and skills for Manyeledi community members who are engaged in subsistence farming, to improve their crop yield. Manyeledi is a rural village in the North-West province, which, like most rural areas, is experiencing environmental degradation caused by the…

Introduction: Climate change is a pressing topic as scientists continue to reveal its links to human activities as contributing factors to its exacerbation. These observations lead global governments to seek initiatives that could mitigate these negative impacts. South Africa's government has attempted to grow knowledge and awareness by…

This paper examines the consequences of the new policies of school choice in post-apartheid South Africa and the reasons they have largely failed to achieve greater educational equality--their stated purpose. I argue that the dominant reason for this lies in the continuing inadequate resources of many poor schools and the failure to address them.…

The persistence of gender inequality in education in Africa is due to poverty, cultural beliefs and traditions linked to gender-role expectations. This article presents the findings of a study that evaluated the outcomes of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Gender Equity through Education (GEE) programme aimed…

This article reports on a study that investigated the problem of hope for the future and literacy achievement in a sample of impoverished South African primary school children. Data was collected through a quantitative survey that was administered to 160 learners from four classes of grades 5 to 7 at a school in Soweto township, Johannesburg,…

South Africans live in one of the most unequal societies in the world where squalor and abject poverty live side by side with abundant wealth. The challenge of inequality is captured eloquently in the National Development Plan (NDP), the government's roadmap of South African economic future. It has become obvious that the new generation of student…

Purpose: Nation states in both the Global North and South have debated the human rights and liberatory function as opposed to the dependency and economically viable function of social protection policy. This article is an attempt to advance empirical knowledge in the field of social protection policy and poverty alleviation. Method: Using…

Youth transitioning into university face numerous life challenges, particularly in South Africa with its high levels of poverty and inequality. This article, recognising the vulnerability of many students, sets out to identify the resilience processes that facilitate the resilient outcomes of life satisfaction and academic progress. Using a sample…

Africa and most of the global south continue to experience a striking burden of communicable diseases, neglected tropical diseases, and high rates of maternal and child mortality, as well as disastrous internecine conflicts and floods. While Africa has been making steady progress in addressing communicable diseases, it now faces new threats from…

This qualitative case study adopted the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) created by Venkatesh, Morris, Davis, and Davis (2003) to investigate the elements that facilitate and hinder the integration of educational technology in mathematics education in economically disadvantaged areas of South Africa. Semi-structured…

In its vision for education, the National Planning Commission (2011:264) of South Africa states that "all children can access and benefit from high quality education" through flexible services which are available, accessible and responsive to the needs of children, and that "specific consideration will be given to the most…

Second language (L2) reading research suggests that there is a complex interplay between L2 proficiency, first language (L1) reading and L2 reading. However, not much is known about the effect of L1 proficiency on L1 reading, and of L1 reading on L2 reading, or vice versa, in bilingual settings when readers have few opportunities for extensive…