The devastating effect of climate change (CC) on the environment all over the world has been a worrisome phenomenon. The effort by the government and other stakeholders at integrating climate change education (CCE) into the school curriculum in South Africa has not yielded the desired result because of the lack of teacher professional training programs for teaching CCE in the classroom. Using the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) theory as lenses, this qualitative study investigated the implementation of the in-service teacher development programs and their role in enhancing the integration of CCE in Natural Sciences lessons. Five secondary schools out of twenty schools that participated in the in-service teacher training program conducted by one higher education institution (HEI) were purposely selected. Data for this study were generated through one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted with four participating Natural Sciences teachers at the selected schools. It emerged from the data that the implementation of in-service teacher development programs helped Natural Sciences teachers to integrate CCE into their lessons. The data also revealed that Natural Sciences teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge on CC was lacking thus they were not adequately integrating CCE in their lessons. The study concludes that the teacher training programs are responsible for teacher improved pedagogical practice of Natural Sciences teachers in the classroom and the integration of CCE. The paper, therefore, recommends that teacher professional development programs on CCE for Natural Sciences teachers be organized on a continuous basis.

The South African government has developed and incorporated African Indigenous Knowledge (AIK) in the school curriculum however, efforts to integrate AIK in teaching and learning have not yielded the desired results. The study, sought to investigate how AIK is integrated into teaching using Ubuntu values and the implications on teaching and learning in the classroom. Premised on Ubuntu theory, the study adopted an integrated literature review approach, and a comprehensive electronic search was done which led to the discovery of articles that are relevant to the study. A total of 36 out of 54 articles published between 2010-2021 were selected and reviewed. The findings from the literature revealed that much research has not been done to develop strategies that assist teachers to integrate AIK into their lessons. The data also showed that there was a lack of professional teacher development programs meant to equip teachers teaching AIK with the necessary pedagogical skills required in their classrooms. The study concluded that the integration of AIK in teaching and learning at classroom level was still not adequate. The study, therefore, that more continuous professional teachers' development programs be implemented on a regular basis while adopting strategies used to integrate AIK in teaching and learning.

Countries all over the world are experiencing the devastating havoc of climate change. Drastic efforts directed at integrating climate change education into the school curriculum in South African Secondary schools have been unsuccessful due to a lack of training support for teachers teaching Climate Change Education in secondary schools. The purpose of this paper was to explore the role of teacher capacitation programs in assisting Geography teacher to integrate climate change education in their lessons. Shulman’s Model of Pedagogical Reasoning served as theoretical lenses for the study. Five secondary schools out of twenty which participated in the five days’ training program conducted by one higher education institution were purposefully selected. Data for the study was generated through one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted with five participating Geography teachers in the selected schools according to the geographical location and close proximity to the training provider. It emerged from the data that teachers were lacking content and pedagogical knowledge on Climate Change Education and this capacitation program assisted in bridging that gap. The study concludes that training programs were according to selected Geography teachers’ views responsible for the improved pedagogical practices in the classroom. It is therefore recommended that teacher professional development programs on Climate Change Education for Geography teachers be organized on a continuous basis.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the educational system all over the world in many ways, including teaching and learning. Schools had to abandon face-to-face teaching and learning and adopt online teaching approaches. This means that teaching through mobile digital tools and blended approaches is to be enhanced post-COVID-19 era. This paper critically reviewed the literature on the strategies used to support teaching and learning in South African schools during the post-COVID-19 era amid the challenges experienced by the education system in South Africa. The literature review approach was adopted to gather literature on strategies to support teaching and learning in South African schools. Having considered teaching and learning in South African schools which is primarily based on face-to-face traditional pedagogical strategies before the outbreak of COVID-19 and the challenges experienced during the pandemic. The paper argues the need for educational planners to rethink how teaching and learning could be enhanced in the new normal. The digital learning, blended teaching, and eLearning/online learning approaches response of South Africa during the outbreak of the pandemic should be sustained. It emerged from the literature that although teachers and learners have embraced technology, there is no clear policy on how ICT should integrate with teaching, learning and assessment. Therefore, this study recommends that the Department of Basic Education develop an ICT integration policy providing a clear strategy that will accommodate both rural and urban schools. Furthermore, it is recommended that increased funding on education resources and the provision of continuous teacher professional development program be considered. Keywords: New normal, Post-COVID-19, Blended teaching and learning, Online learning