The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of online learning and self-directed learning to motivate and engage students. Therefore, this study sought to determine how online learning fostered self-directed learning at a South African university during this period. Higher education institutions worldwide had to shut down indefinitely following guidance from health experts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since education is regarded as a pillar of development for all countries, some means had to be found to keep teaching and learning going irrespective of the ongoing health crisis. Hence, online learning made it possible for university students to continue learning during the emergency university closure. This was a period of reckoning, however, as many students began experiencing challenges related to poor internet connectivity and accessing digital learning devices. Despite these challenges, the solution was to reach out to all students to ensure that they were not excluded from the learning process. The sudden transition to online learning meant that students could no longer follow a well-coordinated, structured learning schedule that was guided and supervised on campus; rather, online learning meant they had to become more independent in their learning. Independent learning encourages students to be proactive and independent, a philosophy aligned to self-directed learning (SDL). This study explored the experiences of third-year student teachers in navigating SDL through online learning platforms. The study was underpinned by self-directed learning theory and adopted a qualitative case study research design, generating data from ten student teachers using a Zoom App focus group discussion. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis framework. The study found that although SDL is appropriate because it promotes learning independently, the majority of student teachers encountered several challenges when adopting online learning, catching them off guard because they were not formally introduced to it.

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This paper foregrounds the value of the inclusion of Ubuntu philosophy in the school curriculum using indigenous games. There has been increased interest emanating from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in the inclusion of Ubuntu philosophy in the mainstream school curriculum. The DBE has identified indigenous knowledge as an asset that can be integrated into the school curriculum in order to educate African children about Ubuntu philosophy, moral and cultural beliefs. The efficacy of indigenous methods to teach schoolchildren these important concepts has, however, largely remained an untapped area of study. The aim of this paper is to illustrate how Ubuntu philosophy can be taught in the school curriculum using selected indigenous isiZulu games. Using Mbigi's Collective Fingers Theory, we analyse three isiZulu indigenous games and demonstrate that indigenous games can be successfully used to teach Ubuntu philosophy. The paper contributes to the ongoing debates about the value of African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS), such as Ubuntu philosophy, in teaching decolonised curriculum content and instilling moral principles and cultural beliefs such as the value of communal identity.

Novice teachers’ use of English as the medium of instruction in curriculum delivery across all subjects in rural South African schools is the focus of this study. The duration of their entry into the profession as Post Graduate Certificate in Education holders is short and does not capacitate them enough, thus, making them weak and inexperienced, with a high degree of professionalism, especially at the commencement of their careers. This study investigates the lived experiences of selected novice rural teachers on the tasks of teaching in English across all subjects in the rural schools. Fifteen participants from 15 high schools were purposively selected from 15 different rural high schools from King Cetshwayo District, KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The participants were engaged in a focus group discussion as well as classroom observations of these teachers for data collection. Data analysis for this qualitative study was thematically analysed to generate themes for the presentation and discussion of findings. Theories of the Skills Acquisition Theory (SAT) and the Second Language (L2) Comprehensible Input through Teacher Talk Theory (CITTT) were adopted as theoretical frameworks to underpin the phenomenon. Various novice teachers find it difficult to teach across all subjects, using English as the medium of instruction in many rural schools in South Africa. Findings indicated that the educational backgrounds of learners hinder teachers’ use of English to teach them meaningfully. As observed during various classroom observations, teachers also found it convenient to use indigenous languages to deliver lesson content or communicate to these learners in the classrooms during lessons. Findings also revealed that some teachers struggled to express themselves in English due to their educational backgrounds as well. The study, therefore, recommends that teachers during their pre-service education should be well-groomed in English and this should be promoted during their teaching practice in both rural and urban. Various teacher education institutions should be encouraged to deliver curriculum contents/modules to the pre-service teachers in English across all modules.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 revolutionised the education sector across the world and forced schools to embrace online learning. Schools had to scramble for alternatives to face-to-face learning to curb the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring that learning was not disrupted. With the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic cropping up at the beginning of the 2021 academic year and a growing number of teachers contracting the virus, schools were forced to close temporarily or adjust learning models to continue with remote teaching and learning. This required schools to deal with the challenges of infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, as well as provide learners with access to technology and reliable internet connections that would allow them to study remotely and prepare teachers for online pedagogies. To this end, this study explored secondary teachers’ experiences with the transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and their readiness to embrace online learning as the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the entire globe. The study was underpinned by the technology acceptance model and adopted a qualitative research design, generating data from 10 teachers using focus group discussions. An inductive thematic framework was used during the data analysis segment. The study found that schools encountered a variety of digital complexities to overcome, such as digital literacy and online teaching capabilities, multimodal learning, postlockdown teaching and educational leadership and appropriate learning management systems.