Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.za/rss.php?pid=2221-407020200002&lang=en vol. 9 num. 2 lang. en http://www.scielo.org.za/img/en/fbpelogp.gif http://www.scielo.org.za http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In this article, I expand on Mertens' advocacy of the transformative paradigm for social research, where research is consciously geared to the advancement of social justice. I indicate certain links with Indigenous paradigmatic approaches to "knowing," where legitimate knowing is rooted in a quest to enhance relationality in the web of relations in which we as knowers and actors are enmeshed. In considering how we might justify associating knowing with transformative-directed (interventionist) intent, I suggest that the justification rests on us recognising that the research enterprise is always more or less consciously implicated in the continuing unfolding of the worlds of which it is a part. I spell out what is involved in recognising that research is world shaping. I furthermore propose that taking a transformative perspective on the research enterprise allows us to reinterpret other paradigmatic positions (e.g., constructivism, and critical realism, and even some renditions of postpositivism) by looking at their potential to cater for an inquiry process that enables participants, concerned stakeholders, and wider audiences to participate in envisioning and enacting possibilities for enhancing the quality of our existence. I provide some examples from the educational arena. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article reports on intergroup dialogue as an innovative pedagogical tool to disrupt compulsory heteronormative values among life orientation (LO) students. LO is a school subject that is the study of the self in relation to others and to society. An intergroup dialogue between student teachers and their peers with diverse sexual orientations and gender expressions aimed to explore and understand sexuality differences, foster deeper understanding about issues of oppression and privilege, and build alliances for social change. Using a three-phase approach, the article examines the initial perceptions held about sexual diversity among the student teachers and how dialogue with same-sex sexual desire students enabled an understanding of the everyday realities of bullying and harassment. Six students with diverse sexual orientations and gender expressions, as guest speakers, shared their school experiences with a fourth-year cohort of LO students during sessions for comprehensive sexuality education. Dialogues between these two groups led to an increase in compassion for the repressive experiences of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities and a quest for knowledge on how to facilitate redress. Intergroup dialogue was shown to be a promising pedagogical tool to facilitate critical self-awareness, a shift in dissonance, and a quest for more knowledge to provide an inclusive learning environment for all learners. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In this paper, the authors report on the process of designing and implementing an academic support programme using peer tutors at a newly established rural university. The need for support for the development of first-year preservice student teachers' English language academic proficiency motivated the programme. In educational action research mode, the authors tracked changes and improvements to the programme and its implementation over a four-year period. Data in the form of questionnaires, interviews, video recorded lessons, and observations were generated in four cycles to inform reflections and new actions. The data were analysed using procedures associated with content analysis, and interpreted through the lens of cultural historical activity theory. The results show that competing tensions and a lack of focus on a shared object initially led to a delay in building shared knowledge in the beginning of the project. The authors interpret the results from a CHAT perspective and show the value of these tensions for identifying levers of change in a developmental process in the project. In this respect, the missteps of the researchers led to multiple iterations of reflection and action in order to arrive at a shared object, while defining the legitimacy of mediating tools, organisation of division of labour, and effective rules in a higher education programme. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Within the South African context, a great deal has been written regarding the anticipated career aspirations of youth, with special reference to the non-marginalised. Consequently, there appears to be a paucity of information related to the aspirations of marginalised secondary school youths, especially rural youth. Furthermore, it seems that the majority of aspiration-related research has been quantitative. This qualitative and exploratory study, underpinned by a critical paradigm, is aimed at filling this gap using photovoice, participant-designed PowerPoint text, video presentation, as well as a focus group interview as data generation tools. The findings are presented in two themes, namely, "Hoped for Future That Transcends Current Lived Experiences of the Self, Family, School, and Community" and "Serving as Agents of Hope to Enable Social Change." This paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge regarding the aspirations of secondary school rural youths from a qualitative perspective and is an attempt to sensitise schools, the Department of Basic Education, and greater South African society to the importance of providing a platform for learners to share their aspirations. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The paper explores how collages can be used to change school governing body (SGB) members' perceptions of male teachers in the foundation phase (FP) in the Nelson Mandela Metropole, South Africa. The involvement of men in FP teaching forms part of initiatives to diversify and do away with the underrepresentation of men in the early years of learning. SGBs play an integral role in the recruitment and retaining of teachers in schools, but not much is known on how SGBs perceive male teachers and their willingness to employ them in FP. This study involved parent members of SGBs as participants because they represent the majority membership in primary school governance. This qualitative study was underpinned by feminist post-structural theory as a lens to analyse data generated using collages and a group discussion, both of which were later thematically analysed to generate the themes discussed in this paper. Findings indicate that participants' socialisation and lived experiences play a major role in the employment of teachers in FP. The findings also show that engaging in participatory visual methodologies such as collages can provide a platform for transformation of deeply embedded discourses towards equitable and socially just societies. In understanding that change is a process, the study recommends that participatory visual methodologies be used in courageous conversations with communities about constructions of caring masculinities and the involvement of men in care professions such as FP teaching. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Craft- and arts-based procedures, as examples of aesthetic communication, have the potential to inspire new ways of being and doing in the context of student support activities in higher education environments. In this article, we share our experiences of using craftwork and arts-infused activities to examine our practice. In our research undertaking, we collaborated creatively in order to scrutinise and question our taken-for-granted and usual student support practices. The purpose of our inquiry was to engage with specific craft- and arts-based procedures in order to discover how transformation of practice, prompted by creative activism, could be realised. To achieve this, we developed an innovative, Crafting Connections, procedure. This hands-on technique adds to the creative repertoire available to scholars and practitioners. Material sense making employing this craftwork process and arts-based activities facilitated the exploration of student support practices. Using visual activism and a transformative activist stance as theoretical perspectives, images, crafted artefacts, and collage work were scrutinised. This positioned us to make an argument for the coalescing of understanding and prompting of transformed practice informed by creative action and insight. Through craft- and arts-based practitioner inquiry activities, we gained insights regarding ways of creating a transformative learning space for students and staff to grow towards their goals and realise their intentions in a mutually beneficial manner. Our reflections further revealed that it is essential for staff to balance nurturing with respect for agency as a key action in the student support process. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The Zimbabwean curriculum reform journey is shaped by the weight of cultural technologies of domination employed in the country during British imperial rule (1890-1980). Moreover, these imperial forms of domination that, paradoxically, continue to exist today influence the sociocultural and political institutions in the country and delineate what is epistemologically feasible. In addition, the inherited education curricula, specifically at primary school level (the focus of this study) were theoretically and pedagogically disengaged from the lifeworlds of the learners they intended to educate. In this conceptual article, I challenge this colonially inherited education and the paradox of superficial interpretation of unhu/ubuntu (ironically, a doxa in the postcolonial Zimbabwean education system). Further, I suggest considering epistemic depth in pedagogy as an experience that transforms education and society. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200009&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The Zimbabwean curriculum reform journey is shaped by the weight of cultural technologies of domination employed in the country during British imperial rule (1890-1980). Moreover, these imperial forms of domination that, paradoxically, continue to exist today influence the sociocultural and political institutions in the country and delineate what is epistemologically feasible. In addition, the inherited education curricula, specifically at primary school level (the focus of this study) were theoretically and pedagogically disengaged from the lifeworlds of the learners they intended to educate. In this conceptual article, I challenge this colonially inherited education and the paradox of superficial interpretation of unhu/ubuntu (ironically, a doxa in the postcolonial Zimbabwean education system). Further, I suggest considering epistemic depth in pedagogy as an experience that transforms education and society. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2221-40702020000200010&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Traditionally, Zimbabwe's teachers have used punitive measures to maintain discipline in schools. The global movement against human rights violations associated with corporal punishment has encouraged the country's ministry of education to advocate non-punitive approaches, but it has provided little by way of detail or support. In three primary schools in Harare, teachers were trained in two restorative discipline alternatives-peacemaking circles and peer mediation-which they used with 9- and 10-year-old learners between March and October 2016. On average, the learners had bi-weekly opportunities through the circles to tell their peers and teachers what they were experiencing and feeling, and peer mediators had an opportunity to mediate in conflicts affecting their age mates. Outcomes were assessed using interviews with teachers before and after the intervention. In terms of outcomes, peacemaking circles enabled teachers to get to know their students and to respond preemptively to potential problems, while peer mediation led to a small but noticeable fall in the number and intensity of playground conflicts. The study shows that such restorative practices can be a promising way of addressing school discipline issues.