This paper explores how 20 African teachers in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, construct their identities in the light of inclusive education, and how they negotiate the tensions and contradictions emerging from the process of becoming inclusive practitioners. Central to this discussion is the understanding that teachers' identities are…

Within sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is becoming a greater threat to rural communities due to the high numbers of urban dwellers and migrant labourers who return to their rural villages when they fall ill and due to the lack of information and health services. Previous studies have found a reduced rate of infection among people who have high…

This article reflects on the first phase of a research project aimed at the empowerment of Information Technology (IT) teachers in black rural schools in the North-West province of South Africa. In order to empower these IT teachers, the first phase aimed at understanding their unique challenges and needs. Qualitative research methodology was used…

Rurality is an active agent and central to the lived experiences of children growing up on a farm and attending a farm school. It is a key to their everyday experiences, and influences family life, schooling and their future. Previous studies elsewhere in the world have explored the notion of childhood in rural contexts, but there is a dearth of…

This paper gives prominence to rural children's accounts of their journey to school. Twelve children (male = 6; female = 6) from three different rural villages in Lesotho participated in the study. Individual and focus group interviews were used to generate data, and these were preceded by three participatory research techniques: family drawings,…

In this paper, I show by means of Yosso's community cultural wealth theoretical framework how equal numbers of early school leavers (ESLs) from the rural and the urban parts of the North-West province cite similar reasons for their early departure from school. The conclusion drawn from this scenario is that, irrespective of their diverse…

Social justice is undeniably grounded in efforts at circumventing provisions that seek to uphold ostracism and exclusionary practices which have permeated South Africa and many other societies worldwide for extensive periods of time. Vast incongruities and/or inequalities between better resourced urban communities and neglected rural areas impinge…

Increasingly, teacher clusters are being used as a substitute for the more traditional approaches to the professional development of teachers. With this goal in mind, many provincial education departments in South Africa have sought to institutionalise and encourage the formation of teacher clusters as vehicles for the continuing professional…

Training is a key tool for community development processes in rural areas. This training is made difficult by the characteristics of the rural areas and their population. Furthermore, the methods used by traditional training bodies are not adapted to the peculiarities of these areas. This article analyses the training methodology used by the…

This paper describes the use of diagrams as self-explanatory tools. It considers the use of diagrams, in general, and more specifically, examines research that is currently being undertaken in the broad field of visualisation. The research participants referred to in this article were Advanced Certificate of Education students and the paper…

If feedback is provided in a way that can develop students' self-regulatory skills, it could enhance learning and, consequently, lead to improved performance. To improve teaching and learning in higher education (HE), this study sought to determine whether the feedback to first-year students affords them an opportunity to learn from it. A…

This article examines some aspects of the effectiveness of a first-year course in quantitative literacy for Humanities and Law students at a South African university. This intervention is necessary to assist students in developing the appropriate quantitative competencies because there is an articulation gap between the quantitative literacy of…

Despite curriculum imperatives, in South Africa and worldwide, for learners to have more autonomy in investigations, they remain largely teacher controlled with learners having only limited opportunities in planning. This design-based study explored how a cartoon can be employed in a Grade 9 Natural Sciences class in prompting learners to plan…

One of the challenges associated with the implementation of inclusive education in South Africa is the effective training of teachers to meet diverse learning needs in their classrooms. This article reflects on the pilot years of a postgraduate degree course in inclusive education developed at a South African university, using Cochran-Smith and…

This article investigates the process of curriculum renewal in a faculty of education. I report on my own experiences as the initiator of the change to the Bachelor of Education curriculum. When colleges of education were incorporated into higher education institutions, some faculties of education were relocated to these campuses. This move…