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Item Open Access The lack of parent involvement as hindrance in selected public primary schools in South Africa: the voices of educators(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2018) Munje, Paul Nwati; Mncube, VusiAlthough 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.Item Open Access (Re)connect social and environmental responsibility to learners’ living environments: curriculum challenges and possible solutions for teaching-learning in Life Orientation(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2018) Swarts, P.; Rens, J. A.; De Sousa, L. O.An analysis of the National Curriculum Statement indicates a strong focus on the promotion of knowledge in local context, whilst being sensitive to global imperatives. This implies that learning experiences must reflect local realities first; a call which compels teachers to adapt their teaching with the purpose to make learning relevant and meaningful for the learner. It is therefore an appropriate time to ask the key question: Do Life Orientation teachers (re)connect their teaching-learning on social and environmental responsibility with learners’ living environments to adhere to curriculum requirements of relevance and meaningfulness? The qualitative data obtained from 13 structured classroom observations, with specific reference to the topic social and environmental responsibility, revealed that Life Orientation teachers experienced challenges. Based on these qualitative findings the researchers propose place-based education as an appropriate teaching-learning strategy to (re)connect social and environmental responsibility with the learner’s living environment.Item Open Access Research methods for undergraduate delivery: evaluation of problem-based learning(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2018) Reddy, PoovendhreeResearch methods are considered a complex and difficult subject to teach and there is limited data on innovative ways to teach it to undergraduate public health professionals. Although problem-based learning (PBL) is a common approach in various disciplines, little is published on its use in developing research skills within the South African context. This paper outlines the delivery of an undergraduate research methods course with an evaluation of the problem based learning approach with respect to student experience and competence. A cross sectional descriptive case study was conducted among the students of Environmental Health within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Durban University of Technology. All students enrolled for 2015 were invited to participate. Questionnaires were administered after each section and at the end of the Research Methods course. Participants were required to recall how they experienced different sections of the course and to self-reflect on perceived competency post-delivery. Participants reported that they benefitted from the PBL approach and indicated that independent learning helped to develop skills that they could transfer to their professional environment. They enjoyed group interactions and private consultations with the instructor, but expressed difficulty with the literature review, choosing and summarising relevant information and statistical concepts and terminology. The final proposal was a ‘light bulb’ moment and participants successfully converted their research problem into a proposal. Problem-based learning may be used as a successful strategy for skills development in research methods courses.Item Open Access Between a rock and a hard place, third space practitioners exercise agency(Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, 2018) Behari-Leak, Kasturi; Le Roux, NatalieAcademics as well as educational and academic development practitioners often find themselves in an ambiguous space in which personal and professional transformation can take place. Moving constantly between contexts and cultural learning environments at the university, these practitioners inhabit a strange, in-between space between mainstream academic support work, leadership and advocacy and other roles at the periphery. This space known as the third space from which other positions emerge, displaces the histories that constitute it and sets up new structures of authority, practice and discourses which are not always congruent with the university at large. This paper critically reflects on the experiences and insights of academics in a specific professional development course for new academics. Using a critical discourse analysis of in-depth, semi-structured narrative interviews, the authors explore the journey of new academic practitioners as they exercise their agency to carve out a hybrid identity in the third space across institutional boundaries. While resistance and struggle are challenging aspects of third space work, these constitute legitimate processes of identity construction and socialisation through contestation of traditional roles at the university. This paper interrogates the university’s role in creating and sustaining enabling institutional conditions so that academics can work in creative, responsive and relevant ways in a changing higher education landscape.Item Open Access Teaching assistants – a hit or a miss: the development of a teaching assistant programme to support academic staff at a university(University of the Free State, 2018) Cupido, Xena Michelle; Norodien-Fataar, NajwaAccess and equity have long been fundamental concepts underpinning transformation in higher education. Increased student enrolments necessitated the implementation of support structures to bolster student success. However, support provision for academic staff is often overlooked when prioritising student success. In this article, we examine the need for academic support structures in relation to student success from the perspective of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. We argue the merits of a Teaching Assistant (TA) programme to address issues related to equity of access and success by highlighting the experiences of TAs and academic staff in what can be considered constraining university structures. Based on qualitative participatory principles we collected data by means of a World Café. The paper concludes with the significant contribution made by TAs to academic staff support in addressing the challenge of equity of access and success when working collaboratively. Universities are encouraged to strengthen academic staff development through initiatives that support lecturers in creating spaces for closer student staff engagement, enhancing teaching and learning in the process.Item Open Access Voices from the classroom: pre-service teachers’ interactions with supervising teachers(University of the Free State, 2018) Moosa, Moeniera; Rembach, LaurenTeaching practice is an important requirement to acquire a teaching qualification from South African universities. During teaching practice, it is customary for supervising teachers to guide and evaluate the students’ performance. However, very little is known about how the interaction with supervising teachers influences the students’ views about the teaching profession. Forty final-year Bachelor of Education students at the University of the Witwatersrand gave their consent to participate in a qualitative study using open-ended questionnaires. This research aimed to explore pre-service teachers’ voices, using Denise Batchelor’s (2008; 2006) research pertaining to conceptualisations of voice, namely, practical, epistemological and ontological, which were used to analyse the data. The findings suggested that pre-service teachers’ pedagogical choices were linked to the supervising teachers’ guidance. Many of the supervising teachers framed teaching as a profession that foregrounded administrative tasks and classroom management. Some of the supervising teachers’ negative perceptions of the profession caused pre-service teachers to question their choice to become teachers. Another issue was that pre-service teachers wish to feel welcomed and supported at schools, but most experienced a lack of mentorship from their supervising teachers. We recommend that supervising teachers attend workshops and courses on how to mentor pre service teachers.