This paper interrogates the complexity of language use at the Grade Three-Four transition, using the South African context as a microcosm of similar educational systems. The paper describes the complex nature of the transition, particularly within a second language (L2) instructional context. It explores the dissonance between and among theory,…

At the present juncture, South Africa is one of the few countries that do not require a compulsory and specific qualification for principalship. This particular need has been part of a discussion among educational leaders for the past thirty to forty years. Despite all the laudable efforts to redesign the landscape of Educational Leadership and…

As with education as a whole, as a field of study and research, educational leadership and management has, notably in the UK but also elsewhere, experienced a period of critical and self-critical examination. The accusations claim much of it is second rate, ideologically orientated, methodologically inadequate, small-scale, non-cumulative, poorly…

The rationale for this article is that the actors in the South African higher education system, and particularly those with the responsibility for leading it, need to be clear about the arguments in the transformation debate and in particular about how these get at what is actually happening within it, and to be-consciously and self-critically…

After ten years of a democratic education system in South Africa , the demographic realities should be better understood in educational planning. The fragmented nature of the pre-democratic education system has led to undesirable perceptions about quality education and has subsequently influenced the demographic imperatives present in the South…

Current literature on teaching research methodology in the social sciences highlights the changing nature of our world in terms of its complexity and diversity, and points to how this affects the way in which we search for answers to related problems (Brew 2003, 3; Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003, 74). New ways of approaching research problems that…

Changing times in teacher education has been a long mantra and many changes have been occurring globally in this sector of higher education. In South Africa teacher education change has been linked to changes in the broader education processes and includes policy changes and the development of regulatory frameworks which all impacted on practice…

The idea of "the African university" is usually accompanied by an emphasis on Africanisation of education, and of knowledge, on changing the demographic profile of student, staff and administrative bodies, educational syllabi and curricula, and the criteria for research activity and for throughput. The idea of "Africanising"…

This article reflects on the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) at tertiary level, using the University of South Africa (Unisa) as a case study and the five stated goals of the NQF as the criteria for measuring the success or otherwise of the enterprise. A brief description is given of the initiatives at Unisa and…