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An important component of an individual’s scientific literacy is a positive attitude towards science. However, emphasis is too often placed on achievement scores rather than attitude. While individuals’ relative levels of problem-solving skills, inherent aptitudes for the subject matter and teaching practices are conveyed through achievement scores, attitudes to science convey individuals’ emotional evaluation of the subject. Attitudes have a strong impact on behaviour: through either facilitating the learning process or hindering it. Furthermore, attitudes towards science reflect the culture which exists within a school, as well as the wider social context within which learning takes place. As a result, understanding attitudes is a key component of the interpretation of achievement results. We used data from 12 514 Grade 9 students in South Africa who participated in the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study to investigate students’ self-efficacy in science. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to address the following key research questions: (1) What is the relationship between self-efficacy and science achievement for Grade 9 students in South Africa? and (2) What are the contextual factors associated with the self-efficacy of Grade 9 students in South Africa? The findings reveal a positive relationship between self-efficacy and science achievement and suggest a need to also focus on noncognitive aspects in order to improve science achievement. Significance: • The study contributes to understanding the determinants of science performance at school. • The findings highlight the importance of non-cognitive dimensions in science achievement at school. • The findings have policy implications for education programmes and teachers in relation to interventions which incorporate non-cognitive dimensions.

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The data from the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for South African Grade 5 students provide the opportunity to explore these relationships by using parent Background: The acquired skill set prior to school entry has emerged as an important issue in research and policy internationally. Much evidence exists advocating the importance of early numeracy and literacy skills in later academic achievement and economic outcomes of students. Aim:The goal of this study was to determine the association between parents' reports of engagement in pre-Grade 1 learning activities and school entry skills, and mathematics achievement in Grade 5.Setting: This study was based on empirical evidence using South African data from the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.Methods: These relationships were investigated by using stepwise multiple regression analysis.Results: It was found that parent reports of engagement in pre-Grade 1 activities and acquired school entry skills are positively associated with student achievement at the Grade 5 level. This held even when taking other contextual home factors into account: socio-economic status and the frequency of speaking the language of the test at home. Conclusion:The role of the home is important in preparing children for school and has an impact on their later achievement. The home context should therefore be a key consideration in enhancing the South African education system. Parent reports are a good indicator of engagement in early learning activities and acquired numeracy and literacy skills prior to school entry.

The organisational governance of further education and training colleges in South Africa has been cited as an obstacle to the institutions’ ability to contribute to the developmental needs of the country. In response, the government has instituted major policy reforms since 1996, including a move towards granting greater organisational autonomy to these colleges, with limited success. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the causes of these governance issues by examining the effect of the organisational environment, with specific focus on the power dynamics that characterised that environment between 2010 and 2012. A qualitative research approach was adopted to answer two research questions: (i) How did the concentration of power in the external environment affect the expression of autonomy of further education and training colleges between 2010 and 2012? and (ii) How did the colleges respond to the power dynamics in the external environment? The analysis of data from case studies of two further education and training colleges revealed that the government had applied external control over the institutions, thereby constraining the overt expression of autonomy. However, the colleges were not without agency and were able to respond strategically to demands from the policy environment. Thus, this study offers a counter-narrative in South African literature on governance in vocational colleges, and the authors of this article assert that the failing governance in respect of the case studies was a result of external forces (power dynamics) rather than the internal characteristics of the colleges.