To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the pandemic has necessitated new ways of teaching that favour online learning. Emergency online teaching (EOT) was adopted to address various challenges, such as a lack of competence in teachers for teaching online using digital learning management systems, shortcomings regarding internet connectivity, and resistance by teachers to using EOT. Relational leadership couched the study, with an emphasis on constructing positive relationships to forge sustainable learning conditions. A Whatsapp group was created to facilitate focus group discussions. The study found that EOT and learning is desirable and doable, even though various challenges need to be overcome, especially in rural schools. Therefore, there is a need for teachers to adjust their subject teaching plans, assessment details and teaching materials, and to adopt new ways of interacting with learners through EOT during the COVID-19 pandemic. The argument of the paper is that, in the context of COVID-19, education stakeholders should invest in healthy relationships to facilitate the adoption of EOT, in order to construct conducive learning conditions in rural contexts.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate deficiencies in the teaching and learning of financial literacy, which is the accounting part of the subject economic and management sciences in Grade 9 in South Africa. The content knowledge of Grade 9 accounting teachers at rural schools compared to those at urban schools, remains a challenge, as many of the former lack qualifications. Teachers at rural schools are considered to have inadequate content knowledge of accounting, owing to a lack of training and continuous professional development. The sample comprised 89 Grade 9 teachers. The study used secondary data that was collected with a questionnaire on different accounting topics to diagnose the difficulties teachers experience teaching accounting content. The items of the questionnaire were clustered into three constructs: analysis and recording of transactions on the accounting equation, understanding accounting concepts and connections between topics and application of accounting principles, and analysis of transactions in subsidiary journals. The results show that there are deficiencies relating to teachers' content knowledge and competence. This finding suggests that teachers in rural areas should undergo professional development to prepare them to teach learners at rural schools. This development should include establishing professional learning communities for sharing scarce instructional resources between various schools.

This paper investigates the professional curriculum practice of economic and management sciences (EMS) teachers in teaching financial literacy. Financial literacy is the accounting part of EMS. Studies confirm that EMS, as a subject, especially the financial literacy part, deals with the logical, systematic, and accurate selection and recording of financial information and transactions, as well as the compilation, analysis, interpretation, and communication of financial statements and managerial reports for use by interested parties. The study was qualitative, with three participants selected from one rural school in the Thabo Mofutsanyane education district. In-depth interviews were used to gather information regarding the professional curriculum practice of EMS teachers and how they teach financial literacy. The data were then analyzed using the lens proposed by Laws, Harper, and Marcus (2003), which involves identifying various themes that respond to the research questions. The study revealed that there were inadequate accounting cash journal subject content knowledge, and ineffective collaboration during financial literacy lessons. The findings suggest that there should be frequent lesson observations conducted to assist EMS teachers to teach financial literacy. However, concerted efforts should be made by heads of departments and subject advisors to capacitate teachers through sharing of instructional resources, and creating space for team teaching/collaboration among teachers at the school and beyond.

The article outlines the contributions of the church to the liberation struggle in South Africa. In doing so, we limit the content to the contributions of church activities in the Free State. The point of departure is that the liberation of South Africa was not only a result of the barrel of the gun-instead, the barrel was complemented by various peaceful liberation forces, including the activities and the narratives of the church. The arguments of this article are based in decolonial theory, a discourse that sensitises understanding that the liberation of South Africa should not only be interpreted politically, but that liberation transcends politics to other spheres of life, and it involves total liberation and emancipation. Data in this article was collected through interviews and questionnaires, which focused mainly on the role of the church in the liberation of the Free State. In this article, it is argued that the place of the church in the post-1994 histories and narratives should be one of being a champion of social justice, equity and the fair distribution of resources, as well as playing a role to unmask corruption, which continues to subject the people of the Free State to poverty and marginalisation.

This paper aims to explore the pathways to mitigate challenges of learner academic (LAP) performance in a Grade 10 economics class in South Africa. The challenge of poor LAP has ushered a myriad of predicaments in schools globally. These predicaments include lack of teacher inclusion in decision making, inability to work cooperatively together, and lack of professional development opportunities geared towards LAP. The study was qualitative, with 15 participants chosen through purposeful sampling from one rural school in the Thabo-Mofutsanyane education district. This paper is couched in critical emancipatory research with emphasis on the emancipation of the teachers regarding pathways they can self-develop to mitigate the challenges of LAP. The focus group discussions were used to gather information regarding pathways to mitigate the challenges of LAP in schools. The study revealed that teachers possess a very equivocal and varying experience regarding the pathways to use to mitigate the challenges of LAP. The findings suggest that for successful implementation of pathways to mitigate the challenges of LAP, schools need to invest in training teachers for team-teaching and avail the necessary resources (both human and physical) to ensure effective quality teaching and learning exist in the school. The article recommends that schools should develop policy frameworks, together with relevant stakeholders, to guide novice teachers on the strategies they can use to mitigate the challenges of LAP in their classes.