Learners' challenging behaviour is a growing concern in primary schools. Reports reveal that many learners in South African primary schools are presenting with challenging behaviour - disrupting lessons, causing chaos, putting learners' and teachers' safety at risk, and interrupting school functionality. To understand this phenomenon, a systematic…

In the study reported on I investigated how empowering school management teams through a revised learners' code of conduct can improve school discipline management. Using a quantitative research methodology with an exploratory design, data were gathered from 127 respondents across 50 selected schools in the Vhembe district of the Limpopo province,…

The South African higher education sector is annually buffeted with student unrest, ensuing costly vandalism of institutional property and jeopardy of academic progress. This paper explores episodes of vandalism in higher education institutions in South Africa. The literature review is utilised as a qualitative submethodology. 47 journal articles…

The abolition of corporal punishment (CP) in South African schools in 1996 has continued to generate heated debates among all concerned stakeholders in the educational sector. While some support the ban of corporal punishment, others have vehemently protested its abolishment. Unfortunately, irrespective of the line of debate, legislative…

Students' challenging behaviour is a persisting problem in some primary schools. In South African primary schools, however, students' challenging behaviour is mainly understood as disruptive classroom behaviour. To establish how primary schools experience this phenomenon, interviews were held with twenty-one participants, purposively selected from…

Teachers face numerous challenges in their efforts to be pedagogically responsive to students' different learning needs. I extend scholarship in the field by exploring the potential of implementing a nuanced, collaborative intervention strategy called knotworking to facilitate teachers' ongoing professional development (PD). The heuristic of…

The management of ill-discipline among learners has become a serious challenge for teachers. This article reports on a study conducted to determine how teachers in the primary schools of the Matjhabeng Municipality, Free State, South Africa, manage ill-discipline among learners. A mixed method approach, which comprised a questionnaire and…

Background: Autism spectrum disorder is one of the most common disabilities in schools, with up to 50% of such children displaying behaviours that challenge, bringing about demanding teaching circumstances and a negative impact on educators' well-being. Strength-based interventions has not formally been used in autistic classrooms in South Africa…

Globally, mainstream teachers have been experiencing intense challenges of behavioural difficulties by learners in schools. For decades, scholars have intensified the relational impact of behaviour with regard to academic progression. However, there is limited knowledge on the experiences and coping strategies of teachers regarding these…

Students' challenging behavior is impacting negatively on teachers' wellbeing worldwide. Currently, teaching for some teachers in South African primary schools has become exhausting and daunting to say the least. Teachers feel that they have had enough degradation and are not receiving the respect they, as professionals, deserve. Students'…

Teachers experience learner challenging behaviour in primary schools worldwide. In South Africa, learner behaviour is undermining teaching and learning and compromising safety in some primary schools. To understand teachers' experiences of learner challenging behaviour, a qualitative data-collection approach was applied. Data from 15 teachers from…

South African primary school teachers struggle curtailing student behaviors, therefore impeding teaching and learning. To understand this phenomenon, 15 primary school teachers were interviewed. Findings reveal that students' negative family dynamics, displaced aggression, and social factors influenced challenging behavior. Social cognitive theory…

Given that behavioral challenges contribute to learner exclusion in schools, there is a demand for behavior support strategies and practices that (a) extend beyond punitive measures, (b) aid the development of school customs and mores, (c) are based on nonviolence, and (d) promote positive self-discipline. This column explores behavior management…

Students' challenging behavior has become a serious problem internationally. In South Africa, there are reports highlighting that even primary schools experience serious forms of challenging behavior by students. This article emanates from a case study that utilized the social cognitive theory to understand how primary schools address this…

The research investigates the experience of physics tutors at a comprehensive South African university during online and hybrid learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was filled in by 12 tutors from a department of physics. The findings were that the tutors could manage tutoring large numbers of students in the online space and…