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This paper explored the perspectives of novice educators teaching multi-grade classes in primary schools, focusing on their challenges, their coping strategies, and the support mechanisms needed for effective teaching in such complex educational settings. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory served as a theoretical lens for understanding the interconnectedness among novice educators and various subsystems, including classrooms, school policies, and educational regulations.  Data was collected from nine public schools in one of the circuits in the Limpopo Province. Purposive sampling was employed to select only nine novice educators who teach in multigrade settings. The data were thematically analysed. The findings indicate that novice educators faced significant challenges in multi-grade teaching, including lesson planning, equitable attention distribution, and maintaining student engagement. Despite these difficulties, they gradually developed resilience through experience, peer collaboration, and self-directed learning. The paper proposes a framework for strengthening support structures for novice educators, including structured mentorship programmes, professional development initiatives, and additional teaching resources.

This article reports on literature review and the reflective practice of teachers and school principals on the use of action research in identifying teachers’ professional development (TPD) needs required for a successful implementation of blended and virtual learning. This article sought to contribute to the body of knowledge of teachers’ needs analysis and development; teachers’ digital competencies; and action research to the field of education. School principals and teachers who participated in this study confirmed that action research is an effective strategy that can be used in TPD. They further stressed that action research can be used to replace the existing ‘one size fits all strategy’ that is currently used blatantly across highly adequately and under-resourced schools. Using action research helped them expose realities entrenched within teaching and learning in less privileged schools. This study recommends the use of action research as strategy for identification of teachers’ and learners’ needs that should inform the contents and nature of teachers’ professional development programs.

The successful training of preservice teachers in South African universities will be incomplete without the intervention of high school teachers, principals, and other stakeholders in education. It has been discovered that preservice teachers who teach Business Studies (BS) as one of the Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) subjects during teaching practice (TP) do not get enough assistance from their mentor teachers as they ought to because they are overloaded with much teaching work at this time. Therefore, the study aims to explore the different trajectories that preservice teachers take in their preparation for teaching Business Studies, the challenges 4th-year preservice teachers who specialise in EMS subjects encounter, how they overcome them, and how these trajectories impact their teaching practice experience. Overall, the study seeks to improve the quality of Business Studies education in South Africa by providing insights into the preparation and experiences of preservice teachers. Six fourth-year preservice teachers who taught Business Studies in Grades 10 and 12 were selected for the study to reflect on their experiences during teaching practice; hence, reflection was used as the data source for the study. Experiential learning theory was used as the lens of the study. At the same time, the interpretivism paradigm was adopted to understand individual preservice experiences. A case study was used as the design, and thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data generated. The study found that preservice teachers who teach BS during TP face challenges such as a lack of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM), being assigned too much work to do, and the fact that BS has too much content to teach. Despite the challenges, these preservice teachers were creative enough to develop solutions, like designing posters without teaching resources and using practical examples to explain content for better understanding and parental involvement in class decisions such as discipline.

School-Based Experience (SBE) is integral to teacher training in South African universities. SBE in South African universities is organized in education schools and is mandatory for all students who pursue education. This study aimed to explore how student teachers from the Economic and Management Science (EMS) discipline perceive their SBE. This study aimed at the students’ experiences and their impact on their perception of the teaching profession and assessed the challenges that students encounter while in school. The study adopted a guided reflection theoretical framework to understand student teachers’ perceptions of the SBE. A qualitative approach was employed with a purposive sampling of 10 second-year EMS student teachers. Data was collected through individual interviews and analysed using Content Analysis (CA), and categorised using thematic analysis. The study's findings revealed that student teachers perceived SBE as impactful, providing an opportunity to gain school experience and put theory into practice in their teaching profession. Moreover, the findings revealed that student teachers experience challenges while on SBE, such as a lack of school resources, unpreparedness, and poor organizational skills. The study recommended that more support be provided for SBE student teachers.

Mentor-mentee meetings are seen as the backbone of any mentorship relationship between pre-service teachers and mentor teachers. Thus, this study examines the quality of mentor-mentee meetings between business studies Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) and their mentor teachers during teaching practice. This qualitative study is underpinned by the Experiential Learning Theory, and it is located within the interpretive paradigm.  An exploratory phenomenology was employed as its research design. A sample of twenty-one reflective narratives contained in business studies PSTs’ portfolio of evidence were analysed. Random sampling was used to identify twenty-one PoEs submitted by business studies PSTs engaged on their third-year teaching practice. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the raw data that was generated for the study. The study revealed that business studies PSTs were satisfied with the quality of mentor-meetings held during teaching practice. It emerged from the study that crucial aspects of mentoring such as classroom management, lesson planning, learner engagement as well the assessment and feedback were extensively covered during mentor-mentee meetings. The study recommends that ITE institutions make it mandatory for mentor teachers and PSTs to hold mentor-mentee meetings during teaching practice to enrich PSTs learning experiences.

This paper explored the perspectives of novice educators teaching multi-grade classes in primary schools, focusing on their challenges, their coping strategies, and the support mechanisms needed for effective teaching in such complex educational settings. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory served as a theoretical lens for understanding the interconnectedness among novice educators and various subsystems, including classrooms, school policies, and educational regulations.  Data was collected from nine public schools in one of the circuits in the Limpopo Province. Purposive sampling was employed to select only nine novice educators who teach in multigrade settings. The data were thematically analysed. The findings indicate that novice educators faced significant challenges in multi-grade teaching, including lesson planning, equitable attention distribution, and maintaining student engagement. Despite these difficulties, they gradually developed resilience through experience, peer collaboration, and self-directed learning. The paper proposes a framework for strengthening support structures for novice educators, including structured mentorship programmes, professional development initiatives, and additional teaching resources.

Mentor-mentee meetings are seen as the backbone of any mentorship relationship between pre-service teachers and mentor teachers. Thus, this study examines the quality of mentor-mentee meetings between business studies Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) and their mentor teachers during teaching practice. This qualitative study is underpinned by the Experiential Learning Theory, and it is located within the interpretive paradigm.  An exploratory phenomenology was employed as its research design. A sample of twenty-one reflective narratives contained in business studies PSTs’ portfolio of evidence were analysed. Random sampling was used to identify twenty-one PoEs submitted by business studies PSTs engaged on their third-year teaching practice. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the raw data that was generated for the study. The study revealed that business studies PSTs were satisfied with the quality of mentor-meetings held during teaching practice. It emerged from the study that crucial aspects of mentoring such as classroom management, lesson planning, learner engagement as well the assessment and feedback were extensively covered during mentor-mentee meetings. The study recommends that ITE institutions make it mandatory for mentor teachers and PSTs to hold mentor-mentee meetings during teaching practice to enrich PSTs learning experiences.

This article reports on literature review and the reflective practice of teachers and school principals on the use of action research in identifying teachers’ professional development (TPD) needs required for a successful implementation of blended and virtual learning. This article sought to contribute to the body of knowledge of teachers’ needs analysis and development; teachers’ digital competencies; and action research to the field of education. School principals and teachers who participated in this study confirmed that action research is an effective strategy that can be used in TPD. They further stressed that action research can be used to replace the existing ‘one size fits all strategy’ that is currently used blatantly across highly adequately and under-resourced schools. Using action research helped them expose realities entrenched within teaching and learning in less privileged schools. This study recommends the use of action research as strategy for identification of teachers’ and learners’ needs that should inform the contents and nature of teachers’ professional development programs.

The successful training of preservice teachers in South African universities will be incomplete without the intervention of high school teachers, principals, and other stakeholders in education. It has been discovered that preservice teachers who teach Business Studies (BS) as one of the Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) subjects during teaching practice (TP) do not get enough assistance from their mentor teachers as they ought to because they are overloaded with much teaching work at this time. Therefore, the study aims to explore the different trajectories that preservice teachers take in their preparation for teaching Business Studies, the challenges 4th-year preservice teachers who specialise in EMS subjects encounter, how they overcome them, and how these trajectories impact their teaching practice experience. Overall, the study seeks to improve the quality of Business Studies education in South Africa by providing insights into the preparation and experiences of preservice teachers. Six fourth-year preservice teachers who taught Business Studies in Grades 10 and 12 were selected for the study to reflect on their experiences during teaching practice; hence, reflection was used as the data source for the study. Experiential learning theory was used as the lens of the study. At the same time, the interpretivism paradigm was adopted to understand individual preservice experiences. A case study was used as the design, and thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data generated. The study found that preservice teachers who teach BS during TP face challenges such as a lack of Learning and Teaching Support Materials (LTSM), being assigned too much work to do, and the fact that BS has too much content to teach. Despite the challenges, these preservice teachers were creative enough to develop solutions, like designing posters without teaching resources and using practical examples to explain content for better understanding and parental involvement in class decisions such as discipline.

School-Based Experience (SBE) is integral to teacher training in South African universities. SBE in South African universities is organized in education schools and is mandatory for all students who pursue education. This study aimed to explore how student teachers from the Economic and Management Science (EMS) discipline perceive their SBE. This study aimed at the students’ experiences and their impact on their perception of the teaching profession and assessed the challenges that students encounter while in school. The study adopted a guided reflection theoretical framework to understand student teachers’ perceptions of the SBE. A qualitative approach was employed with a purposive sampling of 10 second-year EMS student teachers. Data was collected through individual interviews and analysed using Content Analysis (CA), and categorised using thematic analysis. The study's findings revealed that student teachers perceived SBE as impactful, providing an opportunity to gain school experience and put theory into practice in their teaching profession. Moreover, the findings revealed that student teachers experience challenges while on SBE, such as a lack of school resources, unpreparedness, and poor organizational skills. The study recommended that more support be provided for SBE student teachers.