https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/6423 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:16:15 GMT 2026-06-09T20:16:15Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32376 COVID-19 and the ‘New Normal’ in Education: Exacerbating Existing Inequities in Education Sayed, Yusuf; Singh, Marcina; Mort, Thelma This paper considers education responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, with specific reference to South Africa, examining how inequality has been exacerbated as a result of the pandemic. It outlines how education policy choices are shaped and how the (mis)use of evidence highlights the lack of meaningful and robust involvement by key education stakeholders and social science specialists, particularly from the critical tradition. COVID-19 has intensified and sharpened social, political and economic fragilities and inequities globally, forcing governments to (re)think responses to social problems and disruptions. This paper underscores three dimensions of inequity in education as a result of the pandemic: equitable teaching and learning during the lockdown and school closures; inequities that may result from the (re)opening of schools in the ‘new normal’; and the lack of attention to psychosocial support and professional development. The paper argues that while this pandemic may be new, it has exacerbated existing inequities in education provision, intensified by the COVID-19 disaster management and education policy. The paper argues for a progressive approach to education transformation in response to this pandemic and future crises and disruptions. This is an article about teaching and learning challenges and how educational inequality is exacerbated during the Covid-19 epidemic in South Africa. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32376 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32375 Designing an English language and literacies knowledge and skills test for Initial Teacher Education students in South Africa Roberts, Nicky; Mort, Thelma Since 2016 the Primary Teacher Education (PrimTEd) project has assessed first and fourth year student teachers’ English language and literacies knowledge and skills with a view to optimising what is offered in teacher education courses. In 2021, after a critical review of these English language assessments, a process of test redesigning that also provides professional development opportunities for language teacher educators, was initiated. In this paper, we report on this process of modifying an existing test and discuss a new design that is still a work in progress, in order to make it more responsive to the English language needs of the student teachers. We argue that the emerging test has the potential to contribute to improved English language teacher education at universities and to improved teaching and learning of languages and literacies in South African primary schools. This article is about designing an English language test to be used in initial teacher education with the aim of improving English language profiency. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32375 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32374 Mort, T., & Sayed, Y. (2021). Enabling conditions for student teachers learning to teach on teaching practicum. Journal of Educational Studies, 20(1), 6-21. Mort, Thelma; Sayed, Yusuf This paper concerns itself with conditions which enabled the learning experiences of student teachers on teaching practicum at resource-constrained schools in the greater Cape Town area. While the importance of teaching practicum is widely discussed, the specific enabling conditions which inform student teachers’ experiences of learning to teach in schools on teaching practicum is not. Student teachers at one university chose to be part of this study. This is a qualitative, empirical study which gathers data through successive semi-structured interviews, after observing a lesson taught on teaching practicum. The findings were that the productive relationships with mentor teachers and the care that the student teachers felt for their pupils, were the enabling conditions in their learning to teach, leading them to develop new ways of teaching to reach their pupils better. The conclusion is that relational aspects on teaching practicum are important to learning to teach. The study offers insights into the specific conditions, on teaching practicum, which enable learning to teach. This article relates to the im[portance of relationships and the mentor teacher in developing a student teacher's confidence and pedagogic approach on the teaching practicum. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32374 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32373 The PrimTEd assessment workstream has been funded by the European Union, in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education (2017–2024) with grant number: DCI AFS/2014/037-518. From 2024 onwards, the Epoch and Optima Trusts have funded PrimTEd assessments. Mort, Thelma South Africa is a linguistically diverse and educationally complex country. Most student teachers in Bachelor of Education programmes who are preparing to teach in primary schools do not speak English as a mother tongue. The medium of instruction for B.Ed programmes is English. Foundation Phase teachers will be expected to teach learners English (as a) First Additional language (EFAL). Intermediate Phase teachers will be expected to use English across the curriculum as English is the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) from grade 4 upwards. As such, it is important that newly qualified teachers entering primary schools can engage with English texts, have a competent understanding of English and communicate fluently in English. As one way of making a positive intervention in future teacher competency, this paper argues for the use of language and literacies assessment in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)at universities. The Primary Teacher Education project (PrimTEd) has developed a set of Language and Literacy standards for teachers, as well as assessments for primary school student teachers’ knowledge of English. These assessments are designed to occur at two points: entry level (first year) and exit level (fourth year) of the Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree. Methodologically this paper considers the complex background conditions in language education which led to the PrimTEd project’s work and then sets out how the PrimTEd project’s assessment strategy may offer a hopeful intervention in these circumstances. This article describes the background to the PrimTEd project and the necessity of its English language testing in initial teacher education in South Africa. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/32373 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z