Extended Curriculum Programmes have a responsibility to validate the resources and experiences students bring to their learning environment. However, designing assessment practices that encourage diverse students to draw on their resources in order to both access and challenge disciplinary discourses can be complex. This article is framed in terms…

In the shift to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERT&L) during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote assessment and feedback became a major source of discontent and challenge for students and staff. This paper is a reflection and analysis of assessment practices during ERT&L, and our theorisation of the possibilities for shifts towards…

In this paper we critically examine the research landscape in South Africa. We do this by documenting the progression and transformation of the country's National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researchers from 2005 to 2015. Results indicate that most NRF-rated researchers in South Africa are white and male but this trend is slowly changing with…

This article provides an overview of the current trends in assessment practice within the field of graphic design. The demands placed on educators to apply sound assessment practice for Higher Education subjects is as intense in the field of graphic design as in any other. Forcing the assessment of creative visual work into existing assessment…

This article is theoretically informed by Bernstein's (2000) notion of pedagogic identity, supplemented by Tyler's (1999) elaboration of Bernstein's theory into an analytical framework that describes four possible identity positions relating to classification and framing properties. The article analyses key primary mathematics curriculum policy…

In keeping with the national mandate of increasing graduates in the sciences in South Africa, a concerted effort in improving the first year experience becomes imperative. First year mathematics courses commonly provide the base knowledge necessary for progression in different degree programmes at university. Success in mathematics courses…

This paper provides an overview of the available information concerning selected policy instruments intended to promote employer-provided training, including the stated rationale and objectives, the target groups and operational design as well as a at a summary of the evaluative evidence regarding their operation. The analysis focuses on policy…

This article considers students' performance in an identical Economics test at two universities to investigate the predictive power of the NBT against that of Mathematics in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam. We find that, on average, both NBT and NSC results are useful predictors of performance in first year Economics. However, for…

Internationally, guidelines for distance education advise the use of feedback from students in designing and redesigning materials. As my own attempt to elicit such feedback was an instructive failure, I decided to draw on theorisations of pedagogy, mediation and subjectivity and on international and local (South African) conceptualisations of a…

Central to the pursuit of education and its functions like assessment, is social justice. Given the (still) existing inequalities brought about by years of neglect, it is clear that the building of a just society is indeed fraught with challenges. This article explores the extent to which all learners in South Africa are afforded fair treatment…

While technology has the potential to create opportunities for transformative learning in higher education, it is often used to merely reinforce didactic teaching that aims to control access to expert knowledge. Instead, educators should consider using technology to enhance communication and provide richer, more meaningful platforms for the social…

Despite efforts to transform the racialised system of higher education in South Africa inherited from apartheid, there has been little research published that interrogates the relationship between race and the experience of academic staff within the South African higher education environment. Drawing on critical discourse analysis and critical…

In this article I reflect on a recent development currently shaping programme evaluation as field, which makes the case for evaluators facilitating evaluation training evaluees to self-evaluate and improve the programmes they teach. Fetterman argues persuasively that the practice was incipient in the field and required formalization and acceptance…

Since the 1980s an extensive research literature has investigated how to improve student success in higher education focusing on student outcomes such as retention, completion and employability. A parallel research programme has focused on how students engage with their studies and what they, institutions and educators can do to enhance their…

The Jomtien conference in 1990 on Education for All is seen by many as a turning point for the introduction of increased monitoring and evaluation of the quality of education systems around the world. Internationally, debates have arisen about the nature and frequency of assessment and its impact on education systems with its intended and…