This article focuses on how recent graduates perceive the rigour of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) initial teacher education (ITE) programme. The article is based on qualitative data collected from a purposely selected sample of 19 beginner teachers who graduated from two higher education institutions that offer PGCE programmes in the Western Cape. Data were primarily collected by means of open-ended semi-structured interviews and triangulated through document analysis. Results revealed how beginner teachers' conceptions of rigour of the ITE programme differ considerably from those advocated by experts on teacher education. The authors of this paper recommend that if rigour in teacher education programmes is to be understood, voices of student teachers and other stakeholders (e.g. teachers, school principals, communities, policy makers) should be included in the design and development of teacher-education curricula. Inclusion of these voices might constructively complement existing conceptions of rigour and influence ITE curriculum policy for the benefit of all stakeholders. Nonetheless, it should be borne in mind that some of these conceptions of rigour might not be informed by theoretical underpinnings and can therefore not supersede those of the experts.

During this learner-centred teaching and learning era, self-assessments may be a viable tool to enable university students to become autonomous and self-directed learners. Sadly, students rarely obtain self-assessment opportunities. This action research investigated student teachers' self-assessment experiences, in order to establish how self-assessments contributed to selfdirected learning. The research question was "What are students' experiences of selfassessments?" Answers about SDL were embedded in students' responses. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and quantitative data were obtained from students' self-assessment and lecturer's scores. Qualitative data analysis was done through coding and emergent themes, whereas quantitative data were analysed statistically and presented in descriptive statistics, bar graphs and scatterplots. Andragogy and constructivism informed this study. Although qualitative results revealed that students had attained some SDL skills, quantitative results showed that the students were still far from attaining these skills, as indicated by low correlations and a wide range between students' and lecture's scores. The researcher recommended that lecturers increase selfassessment opportunities for students; integrate self-assessments across different courses and adopt student-centred assessment approaches.

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Continuing teacher professional development (CPTD) is regarded as key to teachers gaining essential pedagogical-content knowledge needed for the 21st century. Despite the existence of formal structures for this system in South Africa, policy implementation continues to present challenges. This study investigated constraints in the implementation of CPTD policy. The research question was "What factors inhibit the implementation of CPTD policy in Western Cape education districts?" The design was a qualitative case study with purposely-selected sample of principals, teachers, and provincial and district officers. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and triangulated through document analysis. Data analysis involved colourcoding, categorisation and emergent themes. Results revealed that CPTD implementation frustrated teachers, resulting in negative attitudes, low morale and demotivation. Teachers perceived the CPTD as a compliance activity rather than as a tool for growth and development. This conclusion could imply that policymakers need to rethink ways of improving CPTD implementation.

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