Editorial

Labby Ramrathan

School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. ramrathanp@ukzn.ac.za

In this general issue of the Journal of Education there are articles that focus on general school issues, on pedagogical insights, and on the use of technology in teaching and learning that span schooling and higher education. Some propose recommendations on improving pedagogical competencies among teachers, while others propose recommendations that span leadership, policy, and practice across educational settings.

In responding to inherent uncertainties of classroom teaching, Wayne Hugo uses Subjective Bayesian reasoning to offer a framework for understanding how teachers actively refine their professional judgement to work around uncertainties. In his article, "Probabilistic professional judgement in teaching", Hugo argues that by using such a framework, teachers can navigate three fundamental challenges of the classroom: the operational separation between teaching and learning systems; cognitive limitations that necessitate satisficing solutions; and the systematic development of professional knowledge through academic and diagnostic classifications.

Gene Erasmus and Jean Veronica Fourie, in their article, "Over-aged learners burden school resources: An analysis of a Gauteng education district" bring into focus the implications of learner promotion policy on school education. They argue that this promotion policy has substantial implications for the school education system in affecting teachers, learners, and the school. Essau Sefolo, Petrus Du Plessis, and Bernardus Grobler add to the management issues of school education with their focus on corporal punishment in "The dinosaur effect: Assessing whether legislative abolition can lead to the complete extinction of corporal punishment." They argue that despite legislative means to curb corporal punishment in schools, changing ingrained social norms and attitudes towards corporal punishment can be a slow and contested process. Ngozi Blessing Enebe, Jan Heystek, and Martha Matashu explore the role of school leadership on advancing entrepreneurial education in the school curriculum. In "Roles of instructional leadership in the improved implementation of the entrepreneurship education curriculum in the Senior Phase in South Africa", they suggest that principals at the macro level of the school ought to create and communicate the broad vision to the departmental heads and teachers at meso and micro levels for effective curriculum implementation.

Carien Maree, Janet Condy, and Lawrence Meda raise issues of inclusive pedagogies in their paper, "Creating a shared meaning of inclusive pedagogical principles during an inclusive education intervention program." They argue that comprehensive knowledge about inclusion, differentiating instruction, and collaborative learning was made possible through an intervention programme, suggesting that these are needed for in-service teachers. Nomsa Mnisi and Thokozani Mathebula tackle the issue of meritocracy and citizenship education in the context of learners with mild intellectual disabilities in South African schools. In their article, "Meritocracy and citizenship education of learners with mild intellectual disabilities in post-apartheid South African schools" they argue that, while the Schools Act fosters a liberal-based citizenship education it also fosters inequality by compromising educational availability.

Puleng Motseki and Zingiswa Jojo in "Teachers' perceptions on the use of ChatGPT in teaching grade 12 mathematics" find that reception to ChatGPT by teachers is varied, with some educationalists and users being excited about the ease of use and access, while others are cautious about its potential negative consequences in teaching mathematics. Lerato Hlengiwe Sokhulu, Mzwandile Wiseman Zulu, and Dailene Lott-Naidoo's article, "Artificial intelligence in higher education South Africa: The role of ChatGPT in students' learning" is informed by a systematic literature review on students' use of ChatGPT in their learning processes. They argue that while ChatGPT3.5 provides a convenient and adaptable learning resource that promotes student engagement and conceptual understanding, ethical concerns remain a challenge, and they propose that contextually appropriate strategies be adopted by South African higher education institutions to guide students' use of this technology.

George Iroha and Moleboheng Mokhele-Ramulumo, in "The impact of fourth industrial revolution technology innovation on STEM higher education students through flipped classrooms" explore the use of technology in the teaching and learning of STEM subjects in Higher Education. Using a mixed method design, by critically addressing both affordances and limitations of the use of such technology in flipped classroom learning experiences, they advance a nuanced understanding of the impact of the integration of technology on student experiences. Hlologelo Climant Khoza's article, "Supporting pre-service life sciences teachers' development of pedagogical content knowledge using pre-recorded teaching videos" focuses on conceptual teaching strategies for teaching sections of a Life Science syllabus among pre-service teachers and find that using such teaching videos improved their pedagogical content knowledge.