Research 

• Department of Higher Education and Training invited the Faculty to conduct research into the development of Teaching Schools   . Read more
• National Research Foundation Research Niche Area Projects (RNA) (2007-2011): 'Teacher development in “Ecologies of Practice.”' There are five project investigating this topic, ranging from teachers of ITC , science, technology, literacy, Life Orientation. For example, the Science RNA focuses on the role of keystone species within ecologies of practice, concentrating on the professional development of Science teachers. The science RNA operates as a community of practice itself and has created a facebook page to enable the sharing of resources and encouraging discussions.
• South Africa Netherlands Research Programme for Alternatives in Development (SANPAD) (2008- 2010). This project investigates the role of schools in the support of child-headed households (Jace Pillay).
• Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) Research Projects include: E-Content with the GDE E-Learning Framework (Duan van der Westhuizen and Geoff Lautenbach as prinicpal researchers and Alan Amory as project leader), Science education (Josef de Beer and Umesh Ramnarain) in the GET and FET bands, novice teachers and their preparation for the profession (Sarah Gravett)
• University Research Committee (URC): an investigation of socio-drama as therapy (Elzette Fritz); and service learning in the university curriculum (Nadine Petersen)
• UNSECO/ Unitwin Chair: Researching Values Education in an International Consortium   (Nazreen Dasoo)
• UJ Institute for Childhood Education: longitudinal research on children’s cognitive development (Max Bergman) , language development, and “the grade R experience” (Elizabeth Henning).  The organisational structure of these research programmes can be accessed here.
• The ScriptAnalysis Project (SAP) is a GDE-funded project (June 2009-April2010) and it tries to identify the problems that learners experience with the National Curriculum Statement, by studying examination scripts of Grade 12 learners, in Life- and Physical Sciences, Mathematics, English and CAT. The project hopes to analyse the type of examination questions, and also misconceptions that learners have. The project leader is Gert van der Westhuizen.
• The Department of Educational Management is currently involved with three research projects. One of them seeks to find out what the relationship is between learner performance and financial resourcing in various schools classified as being poorly-resoruces. The second project investigates whether the so-called “standardization” (or "equating" procedures) of examination marks, inherent in the Senior Certificate (Matric) Examination, can be regarded as fair, objective and politically legitimate. This is a GDE funded project. The third project is directly linked to the national roll-out of the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE  - School Management and Leadership) and investigates the feasibility and the impact of the new qualification on school leaders, behavioural change and school effectiveness. The project leader is Coert Loock.
• Teachers' curriculum literacy is investigated by Maropeng Modiba in an NRF-funded research project.
• The Centre for Educational Rights and Transformation (CERT) houses a number of research projects on human rights in education.

Articles on some of the research by faculty members be accessed through the promotional flyer of the journal. Planned research on literacy education in the UJ Institute for Childhood Education is discussed in an article entitled " Education Partnerships: Initial Reading, Instruction and Research" in "Focus" (56), which is a Helen Suzman Foundation's publication.  

Contact detailsMs Delia Arends
Tel:+27 (0)11 559 5102