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Item Teacher Supply and Demand in South Africa : 2013 to 2025 : Technical Report(Centre for Development and Enterprise, South Africa, 2015-03) Simkins, CharlesThis paper sets out the processes and procedures followed to model the demand for teachers, supply of teachers to the system, and the match between the supply and demand over the next 10 years.Item 2015 Technical and Voacational Education and Training(National Treasury, South Africa, 2015) Pienaar, Dawid-Willem; Venter, Fouche; Govender, Megan; Jitsing, AmandaThe National Treasury has commissioned a set of Performance and Expenditure Reviews (PERs) across 30 to 40 government policy initiatives. The aim of these reviews is to provide insights into the trends, composition and drivers of government expenditure across key programmes. These reviews provide useful insights into the cost of government services and can be an important tool for decision makers in pursuing efficiency gains and value for money. This PER focuses on the public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college sector. TVET colleges (previously referred to as Further Education and Training colleges) aim to provide educational opportunities to those who either do not qualify for tertiary education or require vocational training with direct application to the workplace. The National Development Plan (NDP) states that the sector has a critical role to play in the development of practical, employable skills and, hence, the reduction of youth unemployment and skills shortages in the country. This is reflected in the plan to increase enrolments in public TVET colleges from approximately 639,618 in 20131 to 2.5 million in 2030 and thereby have it be larger, by enrolments, than the university sector; as is also reflected in the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.Item TALIS 2018 Technical Report(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2019)This technical report details the steps, procedures, methodologies, standards and rules that the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2018 used to collect high-quality data. The primary purpose of the report is to support readers of the international and subsequent thematic reports as well as users of the public international database when interpreting results, contextualising information and using the data. A user guide complements this technical report and provides detailed guidance and examples for individuals using TALIS 2018 data. The report is structured in the form of 12 chapters followed by 9 annexes. Chapters 1 to 12 provide an overview of the conceptual framework and questionnaire development processes, translation and translation verification, further field operations and the quality observations of the fieldwork in countries/economies. It describes the sampling, weighting and adjudication procedures applied, followed by the preparation and structure of the international databases. Finally, the scaling methodology and the scaling results produced as well as information on the production and verification of the international result tables are included. Annexes A to I focus on the individuals and groups who prepared and conducted the survey, the technical standards, forms and questionnaires used, the achieved participation rates of the various target populations and the scaling process and its results. The following summary highlights the key operational parameters and approaches applied in TALIS 2018 and further detailed in this technical report. The summary then details the key changes made during TALIS 2018 in comparison to previous cycles, especially TALIS 2013.Item Driving evidence-based education reform : Jan 2014 - May 2018(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2018)The NECT has initiated various programmes that drive efforts to improve learning outcomes in schools. This publication presents the monitoring and evaluation outputs from the NECT programme.Item Grade 10-12 Maths and Science Lead Teacher Training Report - KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo : Final Draft(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2016-03)The National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) is a public benefit organization with one of its primary objectives being to improve the quality of schooling as guided by the Education Collaboration Framework, a blueprint partnership between government and other social partners. One of the most critical programmes in improving the quality of schooling is a District Intervention Programme which seeks to build capacity in districts aimed at improving learning outcomes in schools. It is in this context that the teacher training in mathematics and science was mooted that we are reporting here. The NECT’s work in maths and science complements a wide range of policies, programmes and strategic initiatives that are being undertaken nationally and in provincial education departments and education districts. In this regard, the NECT has taken cognizance of the work done by the Teacher Development and Curriculum Management Committee of HEDCOM on interventions to improve learner performance in Maths, Science and Technology. In response, NECT submitted a successful proposal to the ETDP SETA aimed improving the quality of classroom practice in a sample of schools. To achieve the above objective, the NECT appointed as service provider the Centre for Advancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CASME) from KwaZulu-Natal. CASME developed the content of the Train-the- Trainers (ToT) segment, of the materials for mathematics and science, and of pre-test/post-test evaluation instruments. CASME, together with NECT and district officials from uThungulu and Pinetown (KZN) and Libode and Mt Frere (Eastern Cape), arranged and completed three 3-day (weekend) workshops, while Vhembe and Waterberg (Limpopo) arranged and completed two 3-day workshops. CASME also completed one 2-day and two 3-day train-the-trainer sessions. This ETDP SETA Short Course Program involved 472 teachers, only 28 short of the targeted 500, with 147 teachers from EC, 147 from KZN and 178 from Limpopo. CASME also completed one 2-day and two 3-day Train-the-Trainer sessions. These sessions were very successful, giving an opportunity for the trainers to share their knowledge and plan for the subsequent training. It was also very couraging to see that the district officials from EC and Limpopo who attended Train-the-Trainers went back to their districts and assisted with the training. The NECT Monitoring and Quality Assurance (MQA) team provided support throughout the programme. They attended all the Train-the-Trainer sessions and gave feedback which CASME and the facilitators used to improve their training sessions. The materials were also quality assured and feedback was given to CASME, which used the information for further improvements. The MQA team also attended all the training sessions in all the provinces and was able to give constructive feedback to the facilitators, who appreciated the input. The training of the teachers went very well. The sessions were well attended – probably due to the residential nature of the course, which was especially helpful for those teachers who had long distances to travel. The evaluations done by the teachers emphasized how much they felt that they had benefited – as can also be seen in the improvements from pre-test to post-test. Teachers enjoyed the inclusion and use of ICT. Many said that this was completely new to them and that they would use it in their classes. The two ICT software programs used were GeoGebra and ChemSketch, and teachers were shown how they could generate learner tests using these programs. Positive response could also be seen in the Portfolios of Evidence. This executive summary attempts to capture the most salient points arising from analysis of the mathematics and science pre-test results and an the post-test result. The primary level of analysis for both mathematics and science was level attained per topic and per subject. The most significant finding in this evaluation was that attainment levels were disturbingly low across all districts. The pre-test results for both mathematics and science were a concern, as reflected in the quantitative analysis section of this report.Item Technical Feasibility of Reporting Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) 2010 Skill Assessment Results on the PISA 2000 Reading Scale(OECD Publishing, Paris, 2012-02-12) Cartwright, FernandoThis study examines the feasibility of reporting scores of a test based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 instrument that was administered to a sample of 25-year-old Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) respondents on the PISA scale. Each of these respondents also participated in PISA 2000. The study examines the considerations for estimating proficiency estimates for the YITS 2010 sample and describes the methods recommended for analyzing the data. The results indicate that, despite much higher performance, there is no ceiling effect in the YITS 2010 sample for the PISA items. Although the estimated scores for the YITS 2010 sample should not be misconstrued as true ‗PISA results,‘ there is no technical impediment to reporting them on the PISA scale and examining the differences between these results and the PISA 2000 results.Item PISA 2022 : Technical Report(OECD Publishing, Paris, 2024) OECDThe OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the extent to which 15-year-old students near the end of compulsory education have acquired the knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies. Eighty-one countries and economies took part in its eighth cycle, PISA 2022, in which a comprehensive set of indicators, spanning student performance, attitudes towards learning, school environment and resources, and many other aspects of school life were collected for comparison and analysis in what is the world’s largest comparative education study. PISA findings have a significant impact on education systems worldwide, so it is essential that its data is collected within rigorous technical standards and following the best practices in educational assessment to assure valid, reliable, and internationally comparable findings. This Technical Report aims to describe and provide clarity on the technical and methodological underpinnings of these findings. Its goal is twofold: to act as a tool for quality control to enable all stakeholders involved in PISA, as well as the general public to evaluate the quality of the data released in PISA 2022 regarding its four guiding principles of validity, reliability, comparability and fairness outlined in its Technical Standards; and to empower data analysts and researchers to understand this study and its outputs, thus fostering the further use of PISA data. The PISA results were achieved through the work of PISA International Contractors that led the study at the international level, National Centres led by National Project Managers that implemented PISA in each participating country and economy, and subject matter expert groups. Chapter 1 of this Technical Report describes in the different groups involved in the implementation of PISA 2022, and Annex J contains a list of individuals who contributed to this PISA cycleItem Doctoral Degrees National Report(Council on Higher Education, South Africa, 2022-03) Leitch, Andrew; Burton, Stephanie; Ntshoe, Isaac; Kaniki, Andrew; Ralebipi-Simela, RockyThe Council on Higher Education (CHE) is the Quality Council for higher education, as mandated by the National Qualifications Act of 2008, as amended. In this role it is responsible for the quality assurance of the qualifications on the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF), a responsibility which it discharges through its permanent sub-committee, the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC). In addition, the CHE derives its mandate from section 5 of the Higher Education Act (Act 101 of 1997) as Amended to promote, accredit, and audit quality assurance mechanisms across the higher education system, and advise the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation on all higher education matters. South Africa has 26 public universities, of which there are 23 that currently offer doctoral qualifications.There are also five private higher education institutions in South Africa which offer doctoral qualifications. The proposal for a national review of doctoral qualifications arose from discussion between the CHE and the National Research Foundation (NRF). In fulfilling its mandate of Human Capital Development (HCD), the NRF has several funding instruments that support doctoral studies. However, in providing this support including through financial investment, the NRF needs to be assured that the doctoral qualifications offered by higher education institutions meet national quality standards for doctoral degrees ...Item The evolving role of 21st century education NGOs in South Africa : Challenges and opportunities.(National Association of Social Change Entities in Education (NASCEE), Johannesburg, 2019-04) Volmink, John; Van der Elst, LynnThroughout South Africa’s political evolution, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have played a vital role in supporting the country’s development, doing so by delivering critical services such as education to the disenfranchised majority, advocating for rights-based governance, policies and laws, and holding the government accountable for its legal and development responsibilities. The role, strategies, and capacities of NGOs, as well as the resources supporting their work, have shifted over time in response to the prevailing political economy. During the apartheid years, NGOs played a strong adversarial and activist role, one in which they were supported by substantial international development funding. In turn, the transition to democracy after 1994 brought about a change in their role and strategies. Democratic participatory structures obviated the need for their adversarial stance, and the period was marked by strategic and funding shifts in which many NGOs took on a delivery role and underwent a decline in their advocacy and strategic capacity. In more recent years, however, there has been yet a further shift in the political landscape as a result of South Africa’s adoption of the National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP charts a new strategic path, not only for NGOs, but for civil society at large, which, along with the business community, is envisaged as working in partnership with the government and bearing shared responsibility for implementing the social compact embedded in the plan. These changes make it necessary to scrutinise the strategic focus of the NGO sector to ensure its optimal alignment with, and capacity to advance, the national development vision. It is against this background that the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) hosted a national education NGO leadership summit in 2016. It brought together NGOs involved in education to reflect on their respective roles in supporting the implementation of the NDP and on their operational preparedness and sustainability for doing so. The summit affirmed that NGOs are essential to advancing the national education vision, reflected on progress in implementing the NDP, and highlighted the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders. There was a shared recognition that NGOs are uniquely placed to make a significant contribution to the achievement of the NDP’s education goals; at the same time, it was also recognised that a number of factors and constraints inhibit the NGO sector’s full development potential, and that these need to be addressed as a matter of priority so that work may begin in earnest. This paper sets out to examine the developmental role the education NGO sector can play in advancing the NDP’s goals, and the risks and challenges that inhibit it. The aim is to contribute to an evidence base of actions that can be taken to make the sector a strong, effective, and sustainable partner in improving the national education system and thereby securing the education outcomes that are needed for laying the foundations for South Africa’s continued social and economic development.Item Beyond the numbers 2019(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2019)This report assesses South Africa’s current education data and tool landscape as well as some of the major local and global contextual changes currently underway and how South Africa should respond to them. It is not intended to be an exhaustive, detailed assessment of all aspects of information and communications technology (ICT) in education, but rather to provide a snapshot of the system today and an overview of the current trends, challenges and opportunities. The report offers up a blueprint for where further investment and analysis efforts are required to ensure the system can navigate the challenges of a changing technology landscape and leverage the opportunities on offer as a springboard to continue the progress that has been made in recent years.Item Sandbox Research Compendium 2020(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2021)The world we live in is in constant flux and has often been described as “VUCA”: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. In light of this, there is growing recognition that education systems need to evolve to better equip young people with a range of social, emotional, and cognitive competencies to enable them to succeed in an uncertain future. With this imperative in mind, the NECT’s EdHub was formed to assist the basic education sector in responding to the demands of the fast-changing world through research and advocacy. This work happens primarily through the Sandbox Schools Project, a multi-year research project that prototypes, trials, researches, and iterates interventions in 11 quintile 1-3 schools to learn about their potential for developing a range of competencies in learners and teachers. The Sandbox Project seeks to explore how we can deliberately, systematically, and demonstrably embed these “competencies for a changing world” (also called “21st Century competencies”) into teaching and learning so that all South African learners are equipped for life in the 21st Century and beyond. As the Sandbox commenced its first year of research in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the volatility and unpredictability of the fast-changing world and foregrounded the urgent need for education systems to better prepare learners and teachers for this reality. The events of 2020 also highlighted the importance of all components of the education ecosystem – including curriculum, the broader learning environment, the home environment, initial teacher education, and in-service professional development – coming together in support of a shared vision. The Sandbox Schools Project was designed with these imperatives in mind and, despite disruptions experienced in 2020, the team implemented and conducted initial research on several interventions in the Sandbox Schools. Key insights from the research are presented below, with more detailed articles accompanying this summary.Item Assessment Practices to Support the Development of Learner Competencies for a Changing World(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2021) Eadie, Shirley; Webb, Karen; Opelo, Matome; Troy, ConorThis policy brief recognizes the challenge faced by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in preparing South African learners with the 21st century skills and competencies required for the future of work, and the consequent need for adjustments to the delivery of education to develop such skills. The document focuses on the need for updated assessment practices to support the General Education Certificate (GEC) being piloted in 2021. Five key recommendations are proposed to the DBE regarding the assessment of 21st century competencies ...Item Infusing Competencies into Foundation Phase Literacy : the Competency-based Learning Programme(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa., 2021)In our complex and fast-changing world, there is increasing acknowledgement that formal education systems globally are not adequately preparing young people for life after school (Fadel et al., 2015), and that schools need to foster a breadth of competencies that will enable young people to better navigate an uncertain future (Winthrop, 2018). While the Brookings Institution found that the current South African curriculum contains many of these social, emotional, and cognitive competencies, it highlighted a number of challenges regarding the deliberate and systematic implementation of the competencies in practice (Care et al., 2017). In this context, the NECT EdHub seeks to explore how we can better equip learners and teachers in South African public schools with the knowledge, skills, values, and mindsets needed for success in the 21st century and beyond. The EdHub exists to promote, inform, and facilitate education programme innovation by increasing the speed and agility of learning about policies and practices relevant to education for a changing world. This work primarily involves iterative Research & Development with a small sample of public schools, and Advocacy within the broader education sector around the future of education. The Sandbox Schools Project is the EdHub’s flagship research project, that trials approaches to competency-embedded education in South African public schools. The aim of the Sandbox is to test these teaching and learning practices within the context of a ‘typical’ public school in order to gather substantial evidence on which practices and models are best suited to the South African schooling system. There are 11 schools participating in the Sandbox Project (10 in Waterberg District, Limpopo and 1 in Soweto, affiliated to the University of Johannesburg). These are quintile 1-3 schools that have volunteered to be part of the project for its duration.Item Robotics & Coding Research Compendium 2021(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2021)In recent years, the Department of Basic Education has actively explored incorporating robotics and coding into the national curriculum. In parallel to this process, with the hope of enhancing our collective understanding of integrating robotics and coding into teaching and learning practices, the NECT Edhub has collaborated with the University of Johannesburg in conducting 4 robotics and coding pilots in public school classrooms and with the pre-service teachers. Through these studies, it was possible to explore how robotics and coding may help build competencies for a changing world in learners, such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication. The exploration extended into preparing pre-service teacher with skills to integrate robotics and coding, as a tool, into their practice. This compendium is a collection of short articles sharing the emerging learnings from these pilots. This summary offers ten key insights derived from the four case studies presented in this compendium focusing the on areas of teaching and learning robotics and coding in the classroom and the need for teacher development.Item Competency-based Learning Programme(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2023)To assist the basic education sector in preparing young people to thrive in a fast-changing world, the NECT Edhub began a multi-year researchproject in 2018 to explore how “21st century education” could be realised in South African public schools. The research project, referred to as the Sandbox Schools project, had a planned duration of 3 years. The Sandbox Schools Project included designing and researching a number of interventions intended to deliberately develop social, emotional, and cognitive “competencies for a changing world” alongside content knowledge in specific grades and subjects. The Competency-based Learning Programme (CLP) is one such intervention in the Sandbox Schools Project. The CLP, as well as other interventions in the Sandbox Project, was designed using an Educational Design-based Research (EDBR) approach. The EDBR approach involves designing an intervention, informed by theoretical insights and contextual knowledge, and iteratively implementing, researching, and adapting it in a learning environment, with the dual aim of strengthening the intervention itself and garnering further theoretical insights. The design of the research for the CLP was conducted in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Faculty of Education. The intervention design process was conducted in collaboration with Class Act Education Services and UJ, building on an existing structured pedagogy programme being implemented by the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT). The overarching approach to intervention design was to acknowledge the intertwined relationship between content knowledge and skills, by developing competencies with and through the teaching of existing CAPS-aligned content, through relevant pedagogies and content choices. The CLP takes this approach to the Grade 1 Home Language curriculum, building on the existing literacy development routines and methodologies in the structured pedagogy programme. The CLP was implemented in 11 ‘Sandbox Schools’ from 2020 to 2022. An iterative mixed methods approach was used to explore teachers’ experiences and perspectives regarding the CLP intervention. Through analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data, the following insights emerged, each of which is discussed further in the research findings section of this report.Item Edhub Sandbox Tinkering Intervention Report(National Education Collaboration Trust, South Africa, 2023)There is increasing acknowledgement, due to growing inequality and increased uncertainty in the fast-changing world, that there is a need for children to develop a more holistic set of skills and competencies for them to thrive in the present and future. For children to thrive in this fast-changing world and be equipped to create a better world, learning needs to be more than just a matter of memorising facts. Evidence from research suggests that play is a fundamental mechanism for children to develop, and it is increasingly being perceived among caregivers and educators as critical for engagement, positive relationships and learning (The LEGO Foundation, 2022). Similarly, according to UNICEF (2018) learning through play can enhance learners’ mastery of academic concepts and build motivation to learn. In this report we provide an overview of the research insights gathered during the implementation of a mini-Tinkering intervention in the Sandbox schools. The Sandbox Schools Project is the Edhub’s flagship research project, that trials approaches to competency-embedded education in South African public schools. The aim of the Sandbox is to test these teaching and learning practices within the context of a ‘typical’ public school in order to gather evidence on which practices and models are best suited to the South African schooling system. Tinkering is a sensory-filled experience in the classroom that encourages learners to interact with, be hands-on with and manipulate building blocks and various other materials. The NECT Edhub implemented the Tinkering intervention at two primary schools, which are part of the Sandbox Schools Project, in Limpopo. The LEGO Foundation donated the tinkering kits, and 16 teachers were trained on how to use them in the classroom. Teachers were then given full autonomy to decide on when and how they chose to introduce tinkering into their lessons. The primary objective of the intervention was to obtain an understanding of how teachers perceive and experience the use of tinkering kits in South African public school classrooms. After two months of implementing tinkering in the classrooms, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the teachers to gather data on their perspectives and in-class experiences using tinkering kits in grades 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 lessons.Item National Reading Survey 2023 Findings Report(Nal’ibali Trust, 2023-06) Polzer-Ngwato, T.; Shilakoe, L.; Morse, K.; Huston, K.This report presents the results of the South African National Reading Survey, conducted in 2023. The National Reading Survey is part of the larger National Reading Barometer project, which compiles survey findings and secondary data to describe the national reading ecosystem. The full project documentation can be found at www.readingbarometersa.orgItem Innovation in Education : a Technical Report(MIET Africa, 2016-03) Van der Els, LynnIn terms of the National Development Plan 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Declaration, South Africa has made a commitment to accelerate development over the next fifteen years. Meeting this challenge depends fundamentally on the ability of our education system to equip today’s children for high levels of achievement and active participation in a global 21st century society and economy. Yet that system is inadequate in several ways, be it in terms of its teachers, teaching practices, curricula, management and the skills it imparts to graduating youth. The growing consensus is that the state of the system presents an urgent case – a “burning platform” – for doing things differently. And while there are innovations taking place in South African education, they are scattered in isolated pockets that currently benefit the few rather than the many. What is called for is a means of supporting and coordinating innovation for 21st century learning so that it has the potential to impact, at scale, the basic education system in South Africa.Item Occupations in High Demand in South Africa : a Technical Report(Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP), a research consortium led by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Pretoria, South Africa, 2018) Reddy, Vijay; Rogan, Michael; Mncwango, Bongiwe; Chabane, SybilThe purpose of this technical report is to present the background, the theoretical debates, the methodologies and the processes leading to the development of the 2018 list of Occupations in High Demand (OIHD) for South Africa. Numerous reports have cited the challenges of skills shortages in the country as bottlenecks in both the production of goods and the provisioning of services within both the public and private sectors. For the government, and, more specifically, the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) System, to respond effectively to the skills needs of the country, it is thus important, firstly, to understand the nature and extent of skills needs, and, secondly, to adopt specific interventions that will respond to the skills challenges facing the country.Item Department of Higher Education and Training Annual Report 2022/2023(Department of Higher Education and Training, Pretoria, South Africa, 2023)FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER : I am pleased to present the Annual Report of the Department of Higher Education and Training for the reporting period 2022/23. This edition represents the eleventh iteration since the establishment of our Department. This report reflects our achievements and relevant financial information of our Department’s continued efforts to develop and improve the South African Post-School Education and Training (PSET) system. This reporting period has undoubtedly been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but operations and functions of the Department have once again normalised since the relaxation and gradual phasing out of COVID-19 related regulations during March 2022. In response to significant budget cuts effected across all Government departments, our Department has since been compelled to re-assess and recalibrate its portfolio at all levels, across all programmes and within our institutions ...