Early Childhood Development, Pedagogy, & Inclusive Education

Prof Azwi Muthivhi [email protected]

Focus area coordinators:

Early Childhood Care Education

Prof K Bipath [email protected]

Inclusive Education

Dr Susan Thuketana [email protected]

ECD & Community Development

Dr Tuelo Matjokana [email protected]

WIL in Foundation Phase Teaching

Dr Francinah Masola [email protected]

Language and Literacy Teaching and Learning in the Foundation Phase

Dr Joyce West [email protected]

Focus area coordinator:

Foundation Phase Isizulu Studies

Mr Siya Mbele [email protected]

Foundation Phase Setswana Studies

Ms Poloko Masuelele [email protected]

Mathematics, Natural Science, and Technology in the Early Years of Learning and Development

Prof. Marien Graham [email protected]

Focus area coordinators:

Mathematics and Natural Science in the Foundation Phase

Dr Nadia Swanepoel [email protected]

Indigenous Mathematics in the Foundation Phase

Ms Scholastica Mamogale  [email protected]

Digital Technology & Coding and Robotics in the Foundation Phase

Dr Kayla Willemse [email protected]

School leadership development; management; School Violence; Accountability in schools:

Focus area coordinators:

Prof Siphiwe Mthiyane [email protected]

Dr Sibonelo Blose [email protected]

Other researchers in this field:

Dr Nontuthuzelo Mhlanga [email protected]

Dr René Beyers-Prinsloo [email protected]

Prof Chika Sehoole [email protected]

Dr Simon Sebidi [email protected]

Dr Nevensha Sing [email protected]

Dr Rakgadi Phatlane [email protected]

Higher Education, Centralisation; Decentralisation in Education; Internationalisation /Globalisation of Education; Interdisciplinary research in finance, economics, and HE; Human Rights Education

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Kola Adeyemo [email protected]

Other researchers in this field:

Dr Nevensha Sing [email protected]

Dr Talita Calitz [email protected]

Prof Chika Sehoole [email protected]

Dr Simon Sebidi [email protected]

Women in Leadership: Mentoring and Inclusion in Education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Nonjabulo Madonda [email protected]

Other researchers in this field:

Dr Talita Calitz [email protected]

Rural Education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Zamokwakhe Ncokwana [email protected]

Other researchers in this field:

Dr Zamokwakhe Ncokwana [email protected]

Dr Nontuthuzelo Mhlanga [email protected]

Education Law, Governance, School Finances, Human Resource Development & Policy

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Andre Du Plessis [email protected]

Dr Simon Sebidi [email protected]

Other researchers in this field:

Prof Nylon Marishane [email protected]

Dr René Beyers-Prinsloo [email protected]

Dr Zamokwakhe Ncokwana: [email protected]

Dr Nevensha Sing [email protected]

Dr Rakgadi Phatlane [email protected]

Dr Sibonelo Blose [email protected]

Teacher Education (initial and in-service); Professionalism and Development; Teacher well-being

Focus area coordinators:

Dr Nevensha Sing: [email protected]

Other researchers in this field:

Prof Andre du Plessis [email protected]

Prof Nylon Marishane [email protected]

Dr Rakgadi Phatlane [email protected]

Theory-based Research Approaches (Capabilities approaches; Sustainability; Transformation in Education; Narrative research; Contextual/Emotional Intelligence; Quantitative Research and Arts-based research)

Focus area coordinator:

Dr T Calitz [email protected]

Other researchers in this field:

Dr Zamokwakhe Ncokwana [email protected]

Dr Sibonelo Blose [email protected]

Prof Kola Adeyemo [email protected]

Prof Nylon Marishane [email protected]

Dr Nonjabulo Madonda [email protected]

Research focus Areas Cluster

• Psychological Assessment, Neurodevelopment, and Positive Psychology.
• Career counselling, self-construction, and life designing.
• Wellbeing, child and adolescent mental health; Gender and sexuality studies
• Multilingual education; culture and linguistic diversity.
• Inclusive Education Pedagogies and Visual Impairment Studies.
• Resilience in challenged spaces / multisystemic resilience.

Research focus area:

• Psychological Assessment
• Dynamic assessment, response to intervention, and single measures of neurodevelopment.
• Neurodiversity

Prof Suzanne Bester [email protected]

Research focus area:

Gender, Sexualities, Violence, Children and Young People, Teachers, Social Media

Dr Raksha Janak [email protected]

Research focus area:

• School-based health promotion and wellbeing;
• Disability studies

Dr Karien Botha [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Multiculturalism and resilience
• Indigenous psychology
• Ubuntu

Dr Bontle Kgopa [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Inclusive pedagogies and practices at the Foundation phase teaching and learning
• Embracing diversity
• Inclusive education conceptualisation

Dr Nokuthula Dewa [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Family resilience
• Inclusive education
• Adolescent/youth resilience

Prof Ruth Mampane [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Resilience in challenged spaces
• Transdisciplinary Methodology
• Indigenous knowledge/ sociocultural lenses
• Education in the Global South and BRICS
• Teacher Resilience; Intervention research

Prof Liesel Ebersöhn liesel.ebersö[email protected]

Research focus area:

• Developing an Indigenous, integrative, Qualitative -quantitative career counselling strategy
• Self-construction; Life designing; Career resilience; Emotional-social intelligence; Giftedness and talent Career counselling and access to sustainable decent work for all people who are able and willing to work
• The influence of group life-design-based counselling on learners (across the diversity continuum)
• Tracing the impact (effect) of a brief, indigenized, postmodern approach (strategy) to career counselling on South African learners
• Giftedness and talent
• Career counselling and access to sustainable decent work for all people who are able and willing to work
• The influence of group life-design-based counselling on learners (across the diversity continuum)
• Tracing the impact (effect) of a brief, indigenized, postmodern approach (strategy) to career counselling on South African learners

Prof Kobus Maree [email protected]

 Research focus area:

• Well-being
• Positive psychology
• Sustainable Development

Prof Irma Eloff [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Special education
• Learning support
• Mentoring of pre-service teachers
• Inclusive education

Ms Mpho Mthembu [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Visual impairment studies
• Participatory methodology
• Strength-based approaches to coping, health, and well-being
• Teacher and community resilience

Prof Ronél Ferreira [email protected]

Full Professor

Research focus area:

• Inclusive education- learning barriers, reconceptualization of inclusivity, in-service training
• Career guidance- career-related learning intervention in childhood, incorporation of digital media in career intervention, teaching training
• School Violence- bullying, sexual violence and physical violence.

Ms Tshililo Nembambula [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Medical psychology
• HIV-AIDS
• Inclusive education

Dr Michelle Finestone [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Language in Education
• Multilingualism
• Multilingual education;
• Learner/learning support
• School-based intervention
• Cultural and linguistic diversity
• Reconceptualisation of education

Prof Funke Omidire [email protected]

Research focus area:

• Child, adolescent, and emerging adult resilience
• Multisystemic resilience
• Parenting interventions to support child/adolescent resilience
• Child and adolescent mental health

Prof Linda Theron [email protected]

Text and Context

Focus area coordinators:

Prof Johan Wasserman [email protected]

Dr. Pranitha Bharath [email protected] 

Afro-Byzantium and Art Education

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Raita Steyn [email protected]

Poetry and English language education

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Gerhard Genis [email protected]

Design and Art Education

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Raita Steyn [email protected]

Geography Education and Heritage Tourism

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Clinton van der Merwe [email protected]

Art Education, social justice, and censorship

Focus area coordinators:

Prof Raita Steyn [email protected]

Dr Delene Human [email protected]

Musicking in Music Education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Ronel de Villiers [email protected]

Translanguaging and English language education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Nkhensani Maluleka [email protected]

Teaching African languages in a post-colonial context

Focus area coordinators:

Dr Connie Makgabo [email protected]

Dr Nkhensani Maluleke [email protected]

Teaching controversial issues

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Johan Wassermann [email protected]

Multimodality in language education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Linette van der Merwe [email protected]

Conceptualising LO Education

Focus area coordinators:

Dr Sarina de Jager [email protected]

Dr Nozipho Mpontshane [email protected] 

Mentoring in Education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Annelize du Plessis [email protected]

Wellness and Education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Sarina de Jager [email protected]

Educational autoethnography 

Focus area coordinators:

Prof Johan Wassermann [email protected]

Dr Yolandi Woest [email protected]  

Values in Physical Education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Cherese Jones [email protected]

Youth and History

Focus area coordinator:

Prof Johan Wassermann [email protected]

Physical Education and Rural Development

Focus area coordinator:

Dr Leepile Motlhaolwa [email protected]

Maths and science education

Focus area coordinator:

Dr H Botha [email protected]

Dr C Coetzee [email protected]

ICT in education

Focus area coordinator:

Prof R Callaghan [email protected]

Dr M Mihai  [email protected]

Teacher professional development

Focus area coordinator:

Dr David Sekao [email protected]

Prof S van Putten [email protected]

Assessment and quality assurance

Focus area coordinators:

Dr C Combrinck  [email protected]