Universities in South Africa came to a standstill in 2016 because of students’ protests in the quest for a decolonised curriculum. The university of technology in South Africa under investigation was forced to close when students’ demands for a decolonised curriculum intensified. The higher education institution (HEI) is now challenged to come up with a guideline on decolonising the curriculum in the event that students make similar demands again. The purpose of the study reported on was to explore students’ perspectives about decolonising the curriculum. The study was done using a qualitative case study and Rawls’ theory of justice as a theoretical framework. Ten student representatives were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured interviews and complete open-ended questionnaires. The data was analysed using content analysis. It was found that students’ perspectives about decolonisation were distinct, congruent and unambiguous. They were not advocating for the eradication of Western knowledge in the curriculum, but rather for decentring it.

Learning outcomes are essential to any curriculum in education, where they need to be clear, observable and measurable. However, some academics structure learning outcomes in a way that does not promote student learning. The purpose of this article is to present the analyses of learning outcomes of an Electrical Engineering curriculum offered at a University of Technology in South Africa, in order to determine if academics are structuring them in a way that enables student learning. A qualitative case study is used where the learning outcomes from 33 study guides are reviewed using illustrative verbs derived from Bloom’s Taxonomy. Results indicate that 9% of all the learning outcomes are unclear, 10% are unobservable and 23% are unmeasurable. A key recommendation is to provide regular workshops to assist academics in reviewing their learning outcomes using the illustrative verbs derived from Bloom’s Taxonomy, thereby ensuring that their learning outcomes promote student learning.

This paper questions whether the second Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education targets by 2015 for all children to complete a full course of primary schooling, can be realised. A key contention of this paper is that this forecast is far-fetched when we take into cognizance refugee children's accessibility to education. As much as it has reported that enrolment in primary education is on the rise, refugee access to education remains a great challenge. The purpose of this paper is to explore refugee children's access to education, with reference to the South African experience. The study adopted a qualitative approach and case study design. Refugee children have limited opportunities to secondary education and experience many problems accessing primary education because of their refugee status. The study found that there are two forms of barriers to refugee children's access to education: obstacles to enrolling in a school and barriers in respect of sustaining themselves after enrolling at schools. It is concluded that the refugee children's lack of access to education does not support the attainment of second Millennium Development Goal. The study recommends enlightening school management teams about refugee children's rights to quality education. This South African study, which is symptomatic of the global refugee experience, suggests the Second Millennium Development Goal will not be realised unless the education of refugee children is taken seriously.

Purpose: This study aims to examine how lecturers at a South African university navigated teaching and learning in the current educational landscape obscured by the global pandemic. The authors examine how lecturers employed a community of inquiry (CoI) in their online classrooms within the context of emergency remote teaching (ERT). The study further aims to ascertain students’ feedback concerning current ERT practices at the university toward cultivating a CoI. Doing this would offer more appropriate interventions and support for lecturers and students from, within and for an African context. If not, instructors might risk reproducing and perpetuating the same outdated pedagogies before the pandemic.Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method research design informed by a pragmatist paradigm was used. Primary data were collected from 40 lecturers at the university through online questionnaires of which 10 lecturers responded to e-mail interviews. The original CoI survey was distributed among 150 students in the Faculty of Education at the university.Findings: The findings revealed that, despite the rushed and trial nature of the use of ERT, there were instances of a CoI among students. The findings further revealed that the majority of the lecturers were not adequately prepared for ERT as a result of limited experience with asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. There was evidence of an absence of a strong active teaching presence that was found to have negatively influenced the development of social and cognitive presences during ERT.Research limitations/implications: Only a single faculty at one university was selected in this single case.Practical implications: The results of the study have significant implications for faculties and academic staff who are currently teaching online in response to the teaching challenges paused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings will assist lecturers in developing appropriate pedagogical intervention strategies to enhance strong and active teaching and social presences necessary for cultivating the cognitive presences among students during ERT.Originality/value: This is one of the first empirical studies to explore the influence of ERT on the cognitive, social and teaching presences at a university in an African context. The findings and conclusion of the study are novel as they relate to the development of appropriate pedagogical practices and intervention strategies suitable for ERT in response to the current education crisis.

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the impact of the relationship between social/emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagements on developing preservice teachers’ digital competencies. The social/emotional engagement can be illustrated with actions associated with learning, such as excitement, interest, and motivation. Cognitive engagement is the active process of learning and is the most essential form of learning. Finally, behavioral engagement is the physical behavior associated with doing the work and following the rules. Background: Teachers’ digital competencies are essential in creating an active e-learning environment that ensures students’ engagements and reduces learners’ sense of isolation. Due to the lockdown of COVID-19 in March 2020, schools and universities shifted toward e-learning, where higher education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) experienced a digital transformation. Many questions have been raised about life after COVID-19, competencies needed for the new demands of jobs that do not yet exist, social/emotional development of students, and their engagements in online classes. Methodology: An explanatory sequential mixed-method approach was utilized, using a quantitative data method followed by a qualitative data method. An online survey was used to collect the quantitative data from participants. The convenient research population is female preservice teachers who are considered learners enrolled in semesters 3-8 and learning online. Focus group discussions were used to collect the qualitative data from selected participants. Contribution: The findings of the study contribute toward a deeper understanding of the relationship between social/emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagements and their positive impact on developing learners’ digital competencies. The results can be leveraged during or after the pandemic to design strategies and pedagogies that enhance learners’ engagements and develop their digital competencies based on the conceptual framework of the study. Findings: The study’s results reveal a significant positive correlation between social/emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagements that lead to the development of preservice teachers’ digital competency. The relationship between social/emotional and cognitive engagements is stronger than between cognitive and behavioral engagements, while the relationship between social/emotional and behavioral engagements is balanced. Recommendations for Practitioners: Instructors need to consider students’ well-being and avoid the sense of isolation among students through designing strategies and pedagogies using the framework of the study that enhance learners’ engagements. More focus is needed on training instructors and educators in using different interactive applications that enhance learners’ and educators’ digital competency. Recommendation for Researchers: The findings provide theoretical evidence of the impact of the relationship between social/emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagements on developing learners’ digital competencies. However, this study was conducted in an early childhood education program in higher education where all the participants were females. It is highly recommended that future research repeats the study with male and female participants, as well as implement the study with different age groups from k-12 students. Impact on Society: This research highlights the importance of considering the social/emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagements in developing learners’ digital competencies. It is interestingly important to reinforce the teaching, cognitive and social presence among all instructors and teachers due to the positive impact on students’ online learning. Future Research: Future research on measuring the impact of transforming students’ design thinking mindset after using interactive technology is recommended. In addition, it is highly recommended to consider measuring how the students’ learning is influenced by the teaching presence of their instructors. Also, it is recommended that future research considers measuring the instructors’ digital competencies and their impact on planning instructional activities.