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Under the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Government has long mooted the notion of becoming a developmental state in response to rising unemployment, inequality and poverty. This idea was moulded along the folds of the rise of economic growth and industrialisation, as experienced by East Asian developmental states such as Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong. There would be an attempt to channel the state’s administrative capacities, policies and resources towards attaining national development goals. A developmental state plays an active role in guiding economic development and using the country's resources to meet the needs of the people. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) such as the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom) were meant to be the catalyst in the National Development Plan’s (NDP) bid to reignite the country’s stagnant economy. However, the country's state institutions, administrative capacities and resources have been challenged by the state capture debacle that shed light on the corrupt relationship between the political and business elite. As a lack of effective leadership, mismanagement and a complex regulatory framework appear to be at the core of the crisis at Eskom in particular, the main objective of this paper was to determine to what extent the aforementioned constructs perpetuated the energy crisis at Eskom and in turn, negatively impacted the socio-economic aims of the NDP and South Africa’s endeavour to become a developmental state. To achieve this objective, the paper pursued a qualitative research approach where secondary information about the crisis at Eskom, and South Africa’s goal to become a developmental state, were perused. One of the article’s recommendations was that Eskom's grip on the regional power economy must end and that independent power plants must be enabled.

There has been limited study from a southern-African perspective investigating factors that affect the adoption of e-banking specific to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing African economies. To date, little is known about SME uptake of e-banking in the southern African common monetary area (CMA), comprising South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, and Eswatini. This knowledge gap is problematic for banks in providing SME support for the transition to e-banking, given the current move by banks toward embracing digital strategies. This study focused on a single bank with a large footprint in the CMA, intending to add to the body of academic knowledge regarding the adoption of e-banking services by SMEs. It employed a qualitative methodology involving one-on-one, semi-structured, open-ended interviews with purposefully selected Bank X staff in each country of the CMA, using the literature reviewed to identify themes relevant to the proposed conceptual model. The conclusions of this research have led to a framework for e-banking adoption. A framework such as this may positively impact the profitability and sustainability of an SME by ensuring the adoption of e-banking services and utilization of available financial products to improve business opportunities via the e-banking channels of Bank X.

The number of loyalty programmes has increased rapidly, becoming one of the most used marketing practices in the global retail market today. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether special treatment benefits influence Generation Y students’ attitudes towards retail point-based loyalty programmes and usage behaviour in South Africa by extending the theory of planned behaviour and adding unique treatment benefits and consumer satisfaction factors to propose a model for this study. The study employed a quantitative method, where a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a non-probability convenience sample of 388 students (aged 18 to 24 years), across two public higher education institutions’ campuses in the Gauteng province. The collected data was examined using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, reliability, correlation analysis multicollinearity and structural equation modelling (SEM). The study results indicate that subjective norms, unique treatment benefits and perceived behavioural control positively influence consumer satisfaction. The results also indicate that consumer satisfaction has a positive influence in shaping consumer attitudes towards retail point-based loyalty programmes which in turn influence usage behaviour of Generation Y students.

This paper aims to investigate whether home language teaching has an impact on enhanced additional language learning pedagogies. Participants, as data sources, were four university teachers purposely identified because of the task assigned to them, assessing student teachers in diverse schools during TP. Data for this inquiry was collected through semi-structured interviews. It was divulged as the main findings that (i) time constraints caused by consistent code-switching to acquaint with the unfamiliar medium, and (ii) learner dropout rate were challenges. This paper concludes that policies need to be redefined for enhanced language proficiency so that the ultimate end is learners who can communicate globally in a wide range of linguistic constituencies.

As qualitative research, this paper aims to identify the impact of the necessary significance of enhanced digital learning strategies in rural senior secondary schooling. The main findings about improved digital learning strategies in rural schools are (i) limited availability of digital resources coupled with (i) motivation as a factor for teachers and learners as recipients of the schooling process. As a result, this paper concludes by outlining the necessary significance for teachers and learners to have upgraded skills for viability in the digital world. Therefore, this paper recommends that teachers require more professional support and development to transform teaching strategies.

This study used a qualitative research design to examine the difficulties faced by ECD practitioners when applying their mathematical expertise to improve young children's arithmetic learning. Five practitioners were selected from among the five ECD centers using a purposive sampling method for the study. Semi-structured interview questions were employed to collect the data. The construction of themes and sub-themes resulted from analyzing the collected data thematically. According to the research's findings, early childhood educators face difficulties due to their limited grasp of mathematical language, lack of classroom environments conducive to children learning mathematics, and lack of experience incorporating play into their instruction. It was discovered that some practitioners struggled to get kids interested in learning the language since they don't know how to communicate and take a long time to educate because they don't pay attention in class and forget rapidly. Based on the findings of this research, there is a need for proper in-service training of the practitioners, as was the provision of adequate space for the ECD centers.

An entrepreneurship ecosystem entails a community of practice that displays the characteristics of creativity and innovation, risk-taking, a strategist, and an active participant in identifying opportunities and making decisions among others in the organization. The ecosystem can be key when Higher Education Institutions are engaged in the transformation process of commercialization. The paper intends to explore whether an entrepreneurship ecosystem can stimulate the commercialization of the research process in a sustainable way. The qualitative thematic review methodology is employed to achieve this aim. The commercialization process is viewed in an entrepreneurship ecosystem by looking at the entrepreneurial institutions, stakeholders involved, and the sustainable business model. It is recommended that adopting an entrepreneurial ecosystem for commercialization of research in Higher Education Institutions can play a crucial role in building their structures to be economically active; addressing graduate unemployment; providing recovery strategies to reboot businesses in communities, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic; and position themselves as entrepreneurial institutions.

Employment equity has continued to occupy a centre stage in the field of human resource management in the current and forthcoming decades in various countries worldwide. It plays a critical role in promoting the elimination of unfair discrimination and consideration of people from previously disadvantaged groups at the workplace. The paper aims to establish the relationship between employment equity implementation and employee performance. The paper also examines the relationship between eliminating unfair discrimination and employee performance at the workplace. In addition, the paper also aims to evaluate the relationship between the maintenance of affirmative action and employee performance. This study adopted a descriptive research design and a quantitative research approach. The data employed regression analysis to test the hypotheses. Data was gathered from 172 employees in a leading organisation in South Africa. This paper's key findings revealed a positive relationship between employment equity implementation and employee performance. The statistical tests revealed a significant relationship between eliminating discrimination and improving employee performance in the workplace. However, the results of the statistical tests revealed an insignificant relationship between the maintenance of affirmative action and the improvement of employee performance at the workplace. In conclusion, organisations should ensure they eliminate unfair discrimination at all costs. This can improve employee performance.

Social interaction among peers and teachers in English First Additional Language (EFAL) classrooms is a more significant predictor of communicative competence, which is the goal of any language program. During the Covid-19, there was a decline in social interaction among learners due to the sudden change from onsite to remote teaching and learning. This paper aimed to explore the effects of lack of social interaction in EFAL classrooms and how it can be enhanced during the 'New Normal'. This study was underpinned by Long's (1981) Interaction Hypothesis Theory, which emphasizes social interaction as an essential component of language learning. This study adopted a qualitative approach embedded in an interpretive paradigm. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were utilized to gather data from 32 conveniently selected participants. Data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings of this paper indicated that the effects of lack of social interaction were; the inability to solicit information from learners, lack of direct contact, and lack of immediate feedback, which were caused by the COVID-19 social distancing measures. This negatively affected the quality of education. Furthermore, the lack of interactive social activities in EFAL classrooms threatens the acquisition of language proficiency skills, which are key to academic literacy. Therefore, the authors recommend that language teachers receive training on how language lessons should be planned during blended learning to engage learners in interactive social activities like role-playing, storytelling, debates, and group discussions.

Worldwide the emergence of Covid-19 brought about shock and many challenges in the education system. During the lockdown, schools were closed and that reduced contact time. Hence, almost 75 percent of a full school year of the curriculum was not covered. Approximately 400. 000 to 500. 000 learners dropped out of school and to date, the total number of drop-outs grown to 750.000 in South African schools. The study explored the teachers’ experiences in the teaching of Economics during the COVID-19pandemic. Underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, the study adopted a qualitative research approach and used a case study design.  The samples comprised four township secondary schools in KwaZulu Natal (Durban). Using purposive sampling, two Economics teachers were sampled. Two instruments (semi-structured interviews and document review) were used as data collection tools. The findings revealed that Economics teachers experienced problems when teaching the subject during the pandemic. They have found it challenging to adapt to the new teaching methods like using technological tools. The lack of resources and Economics instructional materials exacerbated teachers’ difficulties. The findings revealed that poor attendance for teachers and learners was extraordinary. Notably, due to fears of being sick and infected, stigmatization within the schools prevailed, resulting in bad working relations. From the findings, the study recommends new teaching approaches to stabilize and restructure the curriculum and the retainment of some of the COVID-19regulations to ensure the effective teaching and learning of Economics.

This article aimed to investigate the availability and utilization of support services by undergraduate (UG) students in a nursing education institution in South Africa. The article employed a quantitative non-experimental descriptive design, using a self-administered questionnaire, to collect data from 118 participants selected through a non-probability random sampling method. The IBM SPSS software was utilized for data analysis, frequencies to illustrate the availability and utilization of student support services and Spearman’s correlation test to determine the relationship between variables. The results showed high awareness of 82.1% to 91.3% for the remedial programs, availability of lecturers for appointments, medical services, and compulsory orientation. Positive correlations were observed between service utilization, school type, place of origin, and parent employment status. The results reflected areas where student support can be improved to address this problem, from pre-enrolment to graduation. There is a need to improve awareness and utilization of the available student support programs through policy formulation and quality enhancement programs for impact and improvement.

Providing health education to patients is one of the competencies that nurses develop during training because of its critical role in managing lifestyle diseases. However, novice nurses’ ability to render health education once they are in the workplace is underreported. The study aimed to determine novice nurses' competence in giving patients health education. One hospital in the eThekwini district in KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa formed the setting of this study in which a quantitative, descriptive design was used. Hence, a questionnaire was utilized as a data-gathering tool among purposively sampled 125 nurses in supervisory roles. The data were statistically analyzed and presented in tables and figures. The results showed the respondents perceived the novice nurses as competent in planning and giving health education to patients. The novice nurses’ shortcoming was that less attention was paid to family involvement in giving health education and giving health education at the patient's level of understanding based on their educational level. The study contributes knowledge on the importance of the competence of novice nurses in giving health education as a strategy to tackle lifestyle diseases.

In 2001, the government of Lesotho increased access to schooling for all learners by incrementally eliminating school fees in primary schools. As a result, the admission of children with learning disabilities (LD) in primary schools also increased. Despite these important gains in the restructuring of the education system towards full inclusion during the past two decades, the national policy on teacher training and implementation and school- and classroom-based challenges, remain. Data for this qualitative study were generated through meetings with two groups of participants (Grade 1 teachers). Free-attitude interviews were also conducted in the meetings to conduct an in-depth investigation in the study and the generated data were analysed using conversation analysis. The study concludes that all identified challenges are surmountable and therefore require careful planning, dedicated effort and financial assistance to enable teachers to act as a driving force for inclusive schooling.

Using critical discourse analysis (CDA) as the methodology and decolonial theory as the theoretical framework, this study sought to critique coverage of the Covid-19 crisis in Zimbabwe between March 2020 and July 2021 in Kwayedza newspaper’s editorial comment. Twelve articles written in an African language were purposively selected to obtain a sizable sample. This study found that the newspaper effectively covered Covid-19 in an African language while focusing on its socio-economic and cultural impact on the country and offered precautions and prescriptions for dealing with the pandemic. Its major downside was that it downplayed certain key issues in the process due to its ownership by Zimpapers, which tends to support the government’s policies. This violates ethical journalism principles such as independence, truth and accuracy and is an abrogation of the media’s duty to bring accountability to public officials. This paper, therefore, recommends adherence to the values of journalism which centralize public interest over that of owners.

The aim of this paper was to present reflections on the teaching of physical science using the topic of projectile motion as a launch pad. It focused on the teaching model and what the Department of Basic Education expects from teaching physical science subjects. Furthermore, it looked at some of the challenges regarding teaching physical science in general and in particular to the projectile motion topic. It looked at empirical studies in projectile motion to situate the current research interest to articulate gaps in the topic and the subject. It concludes with recommendations and highlights a need to focus on all grades when teaching physical science subjects, particularly projectile motion than only in grade 12 as stipulated by Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement. The team teaching approach amongst curriculum implementers and subject teachers is also accentuated, and further investigations are proposed.

A formal performance management (PM) system was adopted and put into place in Zimbabwe in 1995 because of many suggestions made by the Public Service Review Commission (PSRC). However, the human resource management (HRM) period since the 1980s has had flaws that led to the implementation of the Results-Based Personnel Performance System (RBPPS) in 2005, particularly in terms of the Africanisation drive following Zimbabwe's independence and the PM system that followed in 1995. The study's objective is to examine the effectiveness of RBPPS in improving the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) performance in Zimbabwe. Information was gathered and compiled using a qualitative research methodology. The research identified elements that contributed to PM's failure in the MOHCC, including management's lack of commitment, a lack of ongoing training, and flaws in the planning and execution of PM. As a result, the government eventually implemented the RBPPS to improve the PM process. The study considers empirical and scholarly findings that may lead to more significant outcomes for Zimbabwe's public sector.

Eruption of the COVID 19 pandemic era in the preceding years has resulted at learning being infused with technology, hence the emergent of new terminologies or prefixes like ‘e’. For the purposes of this paper, eLearning has since been regarded as an essential aspect targeted towards effective schooling. Teaching-learning approaches had to be re-looked at as universities were held in predicaments to engage on online contact sessions through blackboard as a Learning Management System (LMS). This is a software application that necessitates diverse areas, but not limited to, administration, documentation, automation, delivery of educational courses and training programs. It is for this reason that this paper aims to examine whether Blackboard learning has any substantial influence in relation to learner academic attainment. Little is noted by literature on predicaments entangling rural schooling environments for implementation of eLearning. Examination was administered through a qualitative research approach, embedded in a case study design. Three purposefully nominated teachers from a university located in a rural Eastern Cape Province setting were interviewed as participants. It was divulged by the findings that (i) connectivity glitches, thus having an impact on (ii) contact session attendance, as well as (iii) limitation of eLearning related soft skills, were the major hiccups to this emergent learning platform. As authors we therefore conclude that both teachers and learners are held liable to fully acquaint themselves on eLearning, hence the digital world. This paper recommends for alterations and re-inventing of teaching-learning approaches, thereby curbing situations of rural-urban digital variations.

This is a qualitative interpretative case study. Its aim is to explore how instructional strategies shape the teaching practices of Natural Sciences teachers in the classroom. The following question guided the study: How do instructional strategies shape the teaching practices of Natural Sciences teachers in the classroom? Semi-structured interviews and observations were used to collect data from two purposefully sampled participants. The findings reveal that instructional strategies have a more significant effect on the teaching practices of natural science teachers. Further, Natural Sciences teachers still use the old way of teaching, which is the rote-learning which promotes meditation instead of understating scientific concepts. This consequently led to the learner’s lack of interest and poor performance in the subject. It is thus sensible to recommend that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) provides adequate support in terms of workshops to teachers on instructional strategies.

This paper was aimed at clarifying the significance of instructional methodologies used by senior-phase teachers to integrate environmental education. The researcher’s empirical evidence evoked interest in this paper; the researcher noted that senior-phase teachers would barely integrate environmental education and if they did, they would only rely on an outdoor teaching method. This observation piqued the paper's attention. A qualitative interpretive multiple case study method was used. This paper was conducted in three senior phase schools in the Nkangala district in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Three teachers who taught natural science, technology, and life orientation subjects were sampled purposefully. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews and pre- and post-lesson observations, and a typology approach was used to analyze data. The main research findings were that these teachers had confusion about which instructional methodologies to use when integrating environmental education. Furthermore, this paper revealed that the use of instructional methodologies such as narrative, lecture, project, jigsaw, textbook, and student team accomplishment division methods hampered environmental education integration inadequately. Nonetheless, instructional methodologies such as the interactive method, the outdoor learning method, the question-and-answer method, and the discussion method allowed some of these teachers to integrate environmental education effectively. Therefore, to ensure that there is an education for sustainable development and that teaching and learning are responsive to the Sustainable Development Goals. It is recommended that the curriculum implementers and teachers establish ongoing environmental education programs consistent with South Africa’s Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement to enable adequate integration of environmental education through various instructional methodologies.

This paper explores how eLearning culture can be meaningfully instilled as an empowerment approach towards improved learning for an underprivileged rural institution. A qualitative study embedded in a case study design was undertaken. To collect data, semi-structured interviews were administered to three purposefully nominated participants. These were university teachers who rendered their teaching services in a university located within a rural community in one of the Eastern Cape Education Districts. The findings of this inquiry revealed that (i) quality teaching and learning, (ii) lack of eLearning resources and infrastructure, intertwined with (iii) attitudinal behavior from both teachers and learners, were results of inefficiency towards online learning. The study concludes with recommendations that there is an urgent need to invent motivation strategies as no single individual had ever anticipated the emergent turnaround in the entire universe, where all institutions of higher learning were forced to embark on online learning, disregarding diverseness and rurality of learner-teacher constituencies thereof, as recipients in the schooling environments.