This book aims to contribute to the discourse of learning through assessment within a self-directed learning environment. It adds to the scholarship of assessment and self-directed learning within a face-to-face and online learning environment. As part of the NWU Self-Directed Learning Book Series, this book is devoted to scholarship in the field of self-directed learning, focusing on ongoing and envisaged assessment practices for self-directed learning through which learning within the 21st century can take place. This book acknowledges and emphasises the role of assessment as a pedagogical tool to foster self-directed learning during face-to-face and online learning situations. The way in which higher education conceptualises teaching, learning and assessment has been inevitably changed due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, and now more than ever we need learners to be self-directed in their learning. Assessment plays a key role in learning and, therefore, we have to identify innovative ways in which learning can be assessed, and which are likely to become the new norm even after the pandemic has been brought under control. The goal of this book, consisting of original research, is to assist with the paradigm shift regarding the purpose of assessment, as well as providing new ideas on assessment strategies, methods and tools appropriate to foster self-directed learning in all modes of delivery.

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the impact of mentorship on the development of self-directedness among beginner teachers in their initial years of teaching.Design/methodology/approach: The researcher adopted a positivist paradigm to explore the situation of concern. Quantitative research was conducted, involving the collection and analysis of numerical data. Two closed-ended structured questionnaires were utilised, derived from the 40-item self-directed learning readiness scale (SDLRS) developed by Fisher and King, and a pre-determined questionnaire by Glazerman focused on the first-year teaching experience, induction and mentoring of beginner teachers.Findings: Beginner teachers merely relying on the knowledge obtained from their studies is insufficient to achieve a satisfactory level of self-directedness when starting a teaching career. Most beginner teachers faced significant challenges in their early years of teaching due to the absence of mentoring support. In addition, most indicated that they resume their teaching duties and rely on their district for general support, guidance and orientation. Finally, the results have shown that mentoring positively impacts beginner teachers’ self-directedness.Research limitations/implications: The first limitation was that this study was narrowed to one South Africa University part-time B.Ed honours students working as beginner teachers in different provinces at primary and secondary schools. As a result, the findings of this research might be interpreted by some critics as one-sided and not representative of the views of most beginner teachers in South Africa who are working. The second limitation of this study is the sample size. In this study, 222 responses were received. As a result, the findings of this research might be considered not representative of the target sample size.Practical implications: The presence and effective implementation of mentoring programmes in schools can positively impact beginner teachers' professional development and retention during their first years of teaching.Social implications: We contend that our research holds significance for international readership as it aims to garner attention towards potential research endeavours in diverse settings concerning mentorship programs for beginner teachers, specifically promoting self-directed learning. Our research offers opportunities to compare our findings with studies conducted in more comprehensive, comparative contexts and foster research possibilities in broader, contrasting contexts.Originality/value: Based on the findings of this research, the availability and effective use of mentoring programmes would significantly affect beginner teachers' self-directedness, improve their retention rate and alleviate their teaching challenges. This study was the first research on the perceptions of the influence of mentoring on the self-directedness of beginner teachers.

Purpose: The researcher emphasised with current research the need for an induction programme for beginning teachers in the South African context to overcome the challenges experienced by beginning teachers while bridging from pre-service teaching to in-service teaching and to introduce and illuminate the design of a new multimodal induction model.Design/methodology/approach: The researcher followed a narrative approach by discussing previous research regarding the insufficient pre-service training beginning teachers received and the lack of a structured induction programme in the South African context.Findings: Research has shown that South African beginning teachers have faced similar difficulties as beginning teachers worldwide, but South African beginning teachers are not subjected to formal induction programmes. While the South African Department of Basic Education offered guidelines for the beginning teacher orientation programme, there is almost no evidence in the literature that schools follow such guidelines.Research limitations/implications: The implications of this paper give other researchers in this field a broader perspective on how the new multimodal induction model can make a measurable contribution to the school, the mentor, the beginning teacher and, most importantly, the learner.Practical implications: The Department of Basic Education in South Africa and Principals need to follow the guidelines of this multimodal induction model to retain beginning teachers and improve the performance of learners.Originality/value: This is a new model developed by the researcher to explore the benefits of promoting excellence in the teaching profession through a technology-rich, integrated induction programme to increase the productivity, retention and leadership of beginning teachers, enhance and prevent the loss of human capital, with the ultimate goal of improving learners' growth and performance.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the possible use of internships to support educators with the increase in their administrative, professional workload. Design/methodology/approach: This research utilised a mixed method approach. Quantitative and qualitative data was gathered. Pragmatism was the research paradigm. Two structured Likert scale questionnaires were used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposefully selected in-service educators from schools. Findings: The participants in this study indicated that the increase in their administrative workload impacted negatively on their well-being, they were overwhelmed by the amount of documentation they had to compile, they indicated that assessment was difficult, that they did not have time to constantly adapt to changes, that they had limited opportunities for professional development. Educators said they suffered from anxiety, had high stress levels, were moody, physically and emotionally exhausted and considered to leave the profession. Practical implications: The implementation of an internship model could impact positively on educators’ administrative workload. It could lead to a decrease in educators’ administrative workload; lower stress levels and increased learner performance. Student educators will have opportunities to experience how a school operates, get feedback on their teaching skills, learn to discipline learners, attend meetings and serve as part of an educational team. Originality/value: In the light of the findings of this research it seems that the implementation of an internship model would provide opportunities to expose student educators to a real-life work experience and opportunities to work together with experienced educators acting as mentors.

The purpose of this research was to determine the extent to which pre-service teachers were self-directed before implementing habits of mind as a teaching strategy. The researchers purposively focused on first to fourth-year BEd students. The sample consisted of 277 students who volunteered. A concurrent mixed-method triangulation approach was applied. Even though the students overestimated themselves in Williamson's self-rating scale of self-directed learning, the habits of mind positively affected developing various aspects of the self-directed learning process. Pre-service teachers recognised the importance of applying habits of mind, which will help them use their new knowledge in classroom practices and promote self-directed learning. Therefore, it is recommended that the future training of pre-service teachers be scaffolded around the habits of mind that will contribute to developing the teachers' ways of thinking, self-directed learning, and competencies. In addition, several habits of mind will support teachers in utilising and/or adjusting their prior learning to be open to or contribute to the construction of new knowledge. It is also recommended that habits of mind be infused into the current BEd curriculum in order to foster self-directed learning.

In this paper, the authors report on the perceptions of educators in the Further Education and Training (FET) band in the Sedibeng West District (D8) of the Gauteng Province regarding the effect of job demands (workload) and a lack of job resources on their mental and physical resources. Educational policy changes make it difficult for educators to cope. Many educators feel that their workload affects their health and personal lives. The contribution of the paper lies in an exploration of the Job Demands-Resource (JD-R) model at FET school level in South Africa and the recommendations made to assist educators to cope better with their increased workload.