Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.za/rss.php?pid=2520-986820170003&lang=en vol. num. 70 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=S2520-98682017000300001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Conflict is part of organisations and manifests between people in various contexts, including in schools. The purpose of this exploratory intrinsic qualitative interpretive case study was to explore the causes of conflict among teachers in three primary schools residing in previously disadvantaged social contexts, as previous studies have not explored these perceived causes among primary school teachers and neither have these studies been able to frame the causes by means of a conceptual nor Bourdieuan lens. Exploring conflict as tensions are important as it has the potential to result in dysfunctional conflict that negatively impact on the teachers, learners and learning. Purposive sampling was used and fifty-nine educators participated from three primary schools in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Qualitative data was gathered using semi-structured individual interviews, focus group interviews and an open-ended questionnaire. The six categories of the conflict cube of Bradshaw were used to indicate the six main themes, namely relationship conflicts, value conflicts, data conflicts, structural conflicts, interest conflicts and needs-based conflict. The categories associated with each of the main themes are presented as sub-sets by utilising the categorisation properties of a conflict cube. A Bourdieuan lens has also been utilised to interpret the data. The findings suggest that principals, School Management Teams (SMTs) and educators have to be made aware what causes conflict within the field to enable all role players to be more cognisant of these issues in order to become more proactive in their day-to-day interactions within the school context. It is proposed the visual participatory methodologies are explored as tools to assist with the drafting of policies. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682017000300002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en About half of South Africa's Department of Basic Education foundation phase numeracy workbooks' content consist of pictures (Pausigere, 2016), yet the implications of these pictures to the different lower grades is not clear. To analyse the types of pictures, and the inferences to be drawn upon learners' mathematical understanding this article is theoretically informed by Dowling's (1996; 1998) sociology of mathematics education, specifically drawing from his textual description concepts. A sociological qualitative content analysis of the numeracy workbook pictures led to the development of a model capable of classifying key mathematical pictures used in mathematical workbooks and applicable to conventional maths textbooks. The analytical framework's pictorial categories show abstract and concrete-abstract mathematical pictures as being effective in translating generalising, context-independent mathematical principles. On the other hand concrete and abstract-concrete mathematical pictures through situational activities exhibit context-dependent numerical strategies. Given the analytical framework the study discusses the mathematical implications of its findings across the foundation phase. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682017000300003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article explores the nature of the subject matter knowledge that pre-service mathematics teachers' possess by analysing its components, namely, common content knowledge and specialised content knowledge of the high school mathematics curriculum. The data was generated from 59 final year pre-service mathematics teachers' written responses, which tested three sets of competencies: solving problems on Functions and Inequalities; analysing and interpreting learners' errors; and their expertise in allocating marks to questions. Analysis of the written responses identified five categories of response patterns and thereafter individual interviews were conducted with four participants to discuss he responses. The results revealed that while the participants were competent solvers of school mathematics problems, they were unable to analyse and interpret learners' errors for diagnostic purposes. This suggests that teacher preparation should develop pre-service mathematics teachers' specialised content knowledge. The findings also confirmed the value of learner error analysis as an alternative strategy to cultivate the specialised content knowledge of future mathematics teachers. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682017000300004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Situated in the context of teaching in South Africa, this article narrates the journey of pedagogical change and adaptation of one teacher who participated in a professional learning community (PLC). It discusses the durability and malleability of this teacher's pedagogical disposition by arguing for a conceptualisation of teacher change that moves beyond a cognitivist approach, i.e. one that is driven primarily by knowledge acquisition, to one that engages the embodied practices of teachers in the light of the shifts and adaptations that they undergo when trying to establish augmented pedagogical approaches. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, bodily hexis and doxa, this article argues that sustained pedagogical change involves an engagement with the teacher's embodied pedagogical habitus which has formed over time given the educational spaces they have inhabited. The article is based on data collected over a two-year period from PLC transcripts, observational school visits and multiple in-depth interviews with the teacher. This article describes the constraints or 'hardness' of change as the teacher engages with his embodied pedagogical habitus which has developed over time. However, this article further argues that possibilities of embodied pedagogical adaptation and change exist in the reflexive, on-going dialogical space that a professional learning community offers. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682017000300005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The arrangements for the curriculum for administration studies are based mainly on the work of the administrator in support of people in different professions, industries, and contexts. The research objectives on which this study focused, aimed to identify those attributes which are considered legitimate for carrying out office management work, and to establish the attributes required by graduates of the National Diploma in Office Management to enter the field of practice. The utilisation of the Specialisation dimension of Legitimation Code Theory (Maton, 2014) enabled the identification of the attributes required for graduates to function effectively in the workplace. A Delphi approach comprising three rounds of surveys was utilised and distributed to employers, academics and graduates. A survey was also distributed to third year and alumni students. The findings show that the employers and practitioners have strong consensus on the generic qualities such as self-management, participating in team work, having honesty and integrity and applicable attitudes and conduct for graduates entering the field of practice. This is significant as these attributes are considered legitimate for the expected identity of administrators and office managers in future professional practices. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682017000300006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article reports on a study conducted to determine Grade 2 teachers' knowledge and understanding of learning, teaching and assessment for use in the planning and implementation of a large-scale professional development programme on Assessment for Learning. A baseline survey was used to collect data from teachers in 86 schools, randomly selected across fee paying and no-fee schools in two Gauteng districts. Teacher responses across both school types indicate a predominant emphasis on teacher-centred approaches, despite acknowledging the importance of effective learner engagement in their lessons. An overwhelming majority displayed limited knowledge of formative assessment, often conflating formative with formal assessment. More concerning however, was the absence of a deeper understanding regarding the use of assessment for enhancing learner participation and for identifying specific learning needs of learners. The implications of these findings for supporting teachers to develop and implement formative assessment approaches are explored further. The paper concludes by noting areas for further research to determine whether professional development programmes, implemented within the context of learning and teaching in South African schools, can succeed in enhancing teachers' knowledge and skills for the effective use of formative assessment approaches to improve learning for all. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682017000300007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Many higher education systems across the globe struggle with the challenges of low throughput rates and high dropout rates. It is estimated that more than half of South African Higher Education students drop out before completing their degree studies and only one in four students complete their undergraduate programmes in regulation time. Access, success and completion rates continue to be racially skewed. The challenges of these low throughput and high dropout rates along racial lines means that effective teaching and learning has to be a major focus for the higher education sector. In addition, extended degree programmes, where degrees are formally done over a longer period of time, have to be considered as part of the future higher education landscape in South Africa. One difficulty is determining which students will benefit from an extended programme. In South Africa there are two assessments of school-leavers that are pertinent to this difficulty. The first is the national school leaving examination, the National Senior Certificate (NSC), which is a statutory requirement for entry into Higher Education. The results of the NSC are norm-referenced (they yield an estimate of the position of the tested individual learner in relation to her peers) and are often difficult to interpret for the purposes of admission, placement and curriculum development. The second assessment is the National Benchmark Tests (NBTs). The NBTs are criterion-referenced (they generate a statement about the behaviour that can be expected of a person with a given score) and test students in three domains: Academic Literacy, Quantitative Literacy and Mathematics. This paper investigates the empirical relationship between the two assessments and argues that they should be seen as complementary in order to address the challenges of placing students in appropriate programmes and creating effective teaching and learning environments. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2520-98682017000300008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Many higher education systems across the globe struggle with the challenges of low throughput rates and high dropout rates. It is estimated that more than half of South African Higher Education students drop out before completing their degree studies and only one in four students complete their undergraduate programmes in regulation time. Access, success and completion rates continue to be racially skewed. The challenges of these low throughput and high dropout rates along racial lines means that effective teaching and learning has to be a major focus for the higher education sector. In addition, extended degree programmes, where degrees are formally done over a longer period of time, have to be considered as part of the future higher education landscape in South Africa. One difficulty is determining which students will benefit from an extended programme. In South Africa there are two assessments of school-leavers that are pertinent to this difficulty. The first is the national school leaving examination, the National Senior Certificate (NSC), which is a statutory requirement for entry into Higher Education. The results of the NSC are norm-referenced (they yield an estimate of the position of the tested individual learner in relation to her peers) and are often difficult to interpret for the purposes of admission, placement and curriculum development. The second assessment is the National Benchmark Tests (NBTs). The NBTs are criterion-referenced (they generate a statement about the behaviour that can be expected of a person with a given score) and test students in three domains: Academic Literacy, Quantitative Literacy and Mathematics. This paper investigates the empirical relationship between the two assessments and argues that they should be seen as complementary in order to address the challenges of placing students in appropriate programmes and creating effective teaching and learning environments.