Contemporary issues in South African education

Bongumusa Gubevu is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Education at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Gubevu has a keen interest in applying Ubuntu philosophy to address issues in inclusive education. Additionally, Gubevu focuses on school leadership and management, as well as the integration of technology in learning and teaching. Gubevu holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education from the University of Fort Hare, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA), a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Honours (Hons) in Information Science from the University of South Africa (Unisa), a BA from Unisa and a Secondary Teacher’s Diplomafrom the Eshowe College of Education. Gubevu has published journal articles on the integration of technology in geography teaching and serves as a reviewer for an accredited Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) journal.

Charl Wolhuter studied at the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria, Unisa and Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Wolhuter obtained a PhD in Comparative Education from Stellenbosch University. Wolhuter served as a junior lecturer in the History of Education and Comparative Education at the University of Pretoria, a senior lecturer in the same fields at the then University of Zululand, and as a professor of Comparative and International Education at the Potchefstroom campus of North-West University, South Africa. Additionally, Wolhuter has held visiting professorships at several institutions, including Brock University in Canada, the University of Crete in Greece, the University of Queensland in Australia, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, Matej Bel University in Slovakia, Boris Grinchenko University in Ukraine, the University of Zhengzhou in China, the University of Namibia, The Education University of Hong Kong, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in Germany, the University of Latvia, the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, the University of Tarapacá in Chile and National University of San Martin in Argentina. Wolhuter is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on the history of education and comparative education.

Mzuyanda Percival Mavuso is an associate professor and Acting Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Mavuso has served two terms as Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning and has excelled in these areas. In 2023, Mavuso was awarded a Teaching Advancement at Universities (TAU) Fellowship, along with the Vice-Chancellor’s 2024 TAU Recognition Award. Mavuso’s research interests focus on educational leadership and management, as well as climate change education. In 2015, he received the Vice-Chancellor’s Emerging Researcher Award in the Faculty of Education category. Mavuso is also a recipient of the Africa University Twinning Programme National Research Foundation (NRF) Award for 2024, which enabled him to participate in the collaboration between the University of Fort Hare and Njinga a Mbande University in Angola. Additionally, Mavuso is actively involved in postgraduate supervision and has successfully guided several Master of Arts (MA) and PhD students to completion.

Nokuphumula Nyawo is the deputy principal at Ndlangamandla Secondary School in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Nyawo holds an MA in Inclusive Education from the University of Fort Hare. Nyawo completed her tertiary education at the Madadeni College of Education in 1996 and furthered her studies in Accounting at the then Rand Afrikaans University, now known as the University of Johannesburg, in 2004. Nyawo obtained her BA (Hons) with cum laude in Inclusive Education from the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 2012. With 29 years of experience as an Accounting educator, Nyawo has served for 14 years as a PL1, seven years as a departmental head and eight years in her current position. Nyawo received awards for achieving a 100% pass rate in the Accounting National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in 2008, with two learners attaining distinctions, and again in 2010, with one learner receiving a distinction. Additionally, Nyawo recorded an 80% pass rate in the 2013 NSC examination results. Nyawo is also a mentor for student educators pursuing their Bachelor of Education (BEd) degrees from various institutions. From 2000 to 2008, Nyawo served as the finance officer of Ndlangamandla Secondary School. Nyawo has chaired the Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM) committee since 2014 and has been the coordinator of the school-based support team (SBST) since 2020, focusing on the screening, identification, assessment and support of learners with barriers to learning, in accordance with the Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) Policy.

Nonzukiso Tyilo is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Tyilo holds a PhD in Educational Psychology from Stellenbosch University. With 20 years of lecturing experience, she has also served as a visiting lecturer at Umeå University in Sweden. Currently, Tyilo is Acting Deputy Dean of Teaching and Learning at the University of Fort Hare and has previously worked as Director of the Early Childhood Development Centre of Excellence at the university. Tyilo’s research focuses on teacher education, early childhood education, adolescent health and sexuality and blended learning in teacher education. Tyilo is also a TAU fellow.

Oluwatoyin Jumoke Adelabu is a dedicated scholar with a strong academic background in education. Adelabu began her academic journey at the Federal College of Education (Special) in Oyo, Nigeria, where she obtained a National Certificate in Education in Integrated Science/School Text Index (SHI). She then pursued a BA at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. With a passion for knowledge and a commitment to academia, Adelabu completed a BA (Hons) at the University of Fort Hare, followed by an MA degree at the same institution. Her MA’s research focused on ‘Parents’ involvement in the education of their children: A case study of two selected secondary schools in the Amathole West district’. Throughout her academic journey, Adelabu has been actively engaged in research and scholarly discourse, particularly in areas related to parental involvement in education. Currently, Adelabu is pursuing a PhD at the University of Fort Hare, focusing on exploring parental involvement and its effect on learners’ academic achievement, further advancing her expertise in the field. Adelabu is committed to producing impactful research that contributes to knowledge development and promotes parental involvement in education.

Thobeka Matshoba is an Early Childhood Development (ECD) specialist at the University of Fort Hare’s ECD Centre, with extensive experience in early childhood education. Matshoba is also an emerging academic researcher, currently completing her MA in ECD. The title of the dissertation is ‘Assessment practices of ECD practitioners during curriculum implementation in selected ECD centres of the Chris Hani district’. Additionally, Matshoba is involved in early childhood care and education (ECCE) curriculum development for both diploma and BEd programmes. Another key aspect of her professional responsibilities includes organising and implementing ECD community engagement projects with parents and preschool practitioners throughout the Eastern Cape province.

Vusi Mncube is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Fort Hare. Mncube has extensively published on democracy and education, focusing on good governance, school governance, democracy in education and social justice. Within the realms of good governance and democracy, Mncube has authored numerous research articles in reputable academic journals. Additionally, he has supervised several MA and PhD studies. Mncube is also an expert on violence in schools, having published various research reports, articles and a book, with a second edition released in 2023. Mncube co-authored three books, the most recent being Violence in Schools: South Africa in an International Context (with CR Harber, 2018, Unisa Press), which won the prestigious Hiddingh-Currie Award at Unisa in 2018. In 2012, Mncube published Education, Democracy and Development: Does Education Contribute to Democratisation in Developing Countries? (with CR Harber, Symposium Books, Oxford, United Kingdom). That same year, Mncube and Clive Harber co-authored a Unisa report titled The Dynamics of Violence in South African Schools, published by Unisa Press in Pretoria. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Mncube published several articles on integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into teaching and learning in higher education institutions. Mncube also serves as a peer reviewer for various national and international journals.

Winston Hendricks is an associate professor of Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Hendricks earned his PhD in Education from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, focusing on how self-efficacy beliefs impact teachers and learners in relation to their mathematics curricula. Hendricks’s teaching experience is deeply rooted in classroom practice, both as a mathematics teacher and as an examiner and moderator for the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE). Hendricks has published works on teacher education, particularly in mathematics education, within both pre-service and in-service teacher programmes. Hendricks’s involvement in teacher training creates a strong foundation for sharing his research and promoting effective academic practices, as well as developing competent pre-service mathematics teachers. Hendricks is also a recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Community Engagement and currently serves as Acting Dean for Research and Internationalisation in the Faculty of Education.