School of Education

Department of Educational Studies (EDST)

Explore the endless possibilities of transforming education through interdisciplinary inquiry and innovative pedagogical strategies.

The Department of Educational Studies (EDST) strives to produce outstanding graduates who are innovative, articulate, and adaptable with a life-long passion for learning, teaching and research to contribute to the advancement and development of rural communities.

The Department of Educational Studies (EDST) strives to produce outstanding graduates who are innovative, articulate, and adaptable, with a lifelong passion for learning, teaching, and research, to contribute to the advancement and development of rural communities. The department aims to achieve this by actively promoting collaboration at regional, national, and international levels.

At EDST, we are dedicated to providing a comprehensive and enriching educational experience that empowers our students to become leaders in the field of education.

Our programmes are designed to foster critical thinking, creativity, and a deep understanding of educational theories and practices. Through hands-on learning opportunities and real-world applications, our graduates are well-equipped to address the unique challenges and opportunities in rural education settings.

We believe in the power of collaboration and community engagement to drive positive change. By partnering with educational institutions, organisations, and stakeholders locally and globally, we ensure that our students gain diverse perspectives and valuable experiences. 

School of Health Care Sciences
BACHELOR OF EDUCATION – FIRST DEGREE

B.Ed. First Degree is a 480 credits qualification at NQF level 6. Norms and Standards for Educator (February 2000) specifies that:
The Department of Educational Studies provides a conceptual framework upon which other departments build their modules. The Departments modules therefore serve as core modules to the programme. It carries 120 credits (spread from 1 st year to the 4 th year)

The Department comprises the following content areas:

  • Curriculum Studies
  • Educational Psychology
  • Development Studies in Education
  • Life Orientation and
  • HIV and AIDS Education
  • Educational Research Methodologies

• Advanced Certificate in Education-ACE (Grade R) or Life Orientation (LO) or Values and Human Rights (VHR)

ACE in Grade R is a 240 credits qualification at NQF level 6. It provides an opportunity for practicing teachers to enhance their content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in the area of specialisation thereby leading them into career opportunities.

The ACE will provide teachers with knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable them to be effective in their respective content areas. There are three of specialisations, namely:

  • ACE (Grade R)
  • ACE (Life Orientation)
  • ACE (Values and Human Rights)

Specific Outcomes

  • Has sound mastery of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the chosen learning areas
  • Can translate theory into practice
  • Can design, execute and assess learning activities that reflect processes, acquisition of new concepts and problems solving skill.
  • Can carry out action research that will inform ongoing development and improvement of personal classroom practice
  • Has a professional thirst for life-long learning.

Key Performance Indicators

  • A practical understanding of the role of language, resources and teaching aids within relevant specialisation.
  • A practical understanding of the of learners’ existing ideas, skills and attitudes within relevant specialisation and their influence on the learning programme and process.
  • An ability to reflect on teaching approaches used and the ability to adjust and change these approaches according to the context (learners, school, geographical area) in which learning takes place.
  • An ability to choose appropriate assessment approaches and techniques for different purposes recognising underlying theories, assumptions, strengths and weaknesses.
  • An ability to use the results from formative and summative assessment appropriately for administrative purposes, learning programme development as well as feedback to learners, parents and colleagues.
  • An ability to design assessment according to requirements of learners, the learning programme and language.
POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION (PGCE)

PGCE is a 120 credits qualification at NQF level 6 based on Norms and Standards for Educators (February 2000). It develops strong practical, foundational and reflexive competence to make judgements in a variety of teaching and learning contexts. There are four areas of specialisation that may be followed within the PGCE programme, namely (Science and Mathematics, Languages and Life Orientation, Economic and Management Sciences, and Socials Sciences).

Specific Outcomes:

  • Has sound mastery of content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in the chosen learning areas
  • Can translate theory into practice
  • Can design, execute and assess learning activities that reflect processes, acquisition of new concepts and problems solving skill.
  • Can carry out action research that will inform ongoing development and improvement of personal classroom practice
  • Has a professional thirst for life-long learning.

Key Performance Indicators

  • A practical understanding of the role of language, resources and teaching aids within relevant specialisation.
  • A practical understanding of the of learners’ existing ideas, skills and attitudes within relevant specialisation and their influence on the learning programme and process.
  • An ability to reflect on teaching approaches used and the ability to adjust and change these approaches according to the context (learners, school, geographical area) in which learning takes place.
  • An ability to choose appropriate assessment approaches and techniques for different purposes recognising underlying theories, assumptions, strengths and weaknesses.
  • An ability to use the results from formative and summative assessment appropriately for administrative purposes, learning programme development as well as feedback to learners, parents and colleagues.
  • An ability to design assessment according to requirements of learners, the learning programme and language.
B.Ed. HONOURS

B.Ed. (Educational Studies) is a 240 credits qualification at NQF level 7 based on Norms and Standards for Educators (February 2000). It develops strong practical, foundational and reflexive competence to make judgements in a variety of contexts. There are three areas of specialisation that may be followed within the honours programme, namely (Curriculum Studies, Educational Psychology, and Development Studies in Education).

Specific Outcomes:

  • Demonstrate a practical and theoretical understanding of effective educational theories
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge generic principles of assessment strategies.
  • To encourage research in education

Key Performance Indicators:

  • An ability to choose appropriate assessment approaches and techniques for different purposes recognising underlying theories, assumptions, strengths and weaknesses.
  • An ability to continuously assess the learning process.
  • An ability to use the results from formative and summative assessment appropriately for administrative purposes, learning programme development as well as feedback to learners, parents and colleagues.
  • An ability to access and critically read a wide variety of professional texts on teaching and learning.
  • An ability to carry out research that will inform the on-going development and improvement of personal classroom practice and students’ learning capacity.
  • An ability to keep up to date with developments in the field.
MASTERS IN EDUCATION - M.Ed.

M.Ed, in Educational Studies is a 240 credit qualification at NQF level 8 based on Norms and Standards for educators (February 2000). Those who join for M.Ed. in Educational may follow three specialisations as in honours. At this stage the programme is by research only.

Specific Objectives:

Demonstrate a practical and theoretical understanding of effective educational matters
Understand theories behind and be able to apply knowledge of assessment strategies in educational contexts
Demonstrates the ability to be an independent life-long learner, researcher and scholar.

Key Performance Indicators:

An understanding of philosophies and research paradigms related to educational research with emphasis on educational research.
An ability to develop workable and appropriate research questions.
An ability to develop a practical research proposal, conduct research and write research reports in acceptable format.

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION- (D. Ed) or PhD

D.Ed or PhD in Educational Studies is a 240 credit qualification at NQF level 8 based on Norms and Standards for educators (February 2000). Those who join for M.Ed. in Educational may follow three specialisations as in honours. At this stage the programme is by research only.

REQUIREMENTS

Entry requirements for Bachelor of Education in Senior Phase and FET Programme,  that is First Degree in Teaching

  • A student must have an endorsement/bachelor pass
  • A student must have Accumulated Point Score (APS) of 24 and above (Note that Life Orientation is excluded when calculating APS)
  • A student must have 50% in the two priority areas which will serve as major subjects
  • A student must have 60% and above for languages

The Programme has four specialisations

  • Bachelor of Education Senior Phase & FET (Mathematics, Science and Technology)
  • Bachelor of Education Senior Phase & FET (Economics and Management Sciences)
  • Bachelor of Education Senior Phase & FET (Languages and Social Sciences)
  • Bachelor of Education Senior Phase & FET (Language and Life Orientation)
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Name

Research Project

Prof. L Cherian

Photography of primary school children
Early childhood development-Belgium
Building Future Initiative-University of Pennsylvania

Prof. JS Brits
Mr. I Cook

Gene-Environment Interaction in the development of Chronic Diseases of Lifestyle in a rural community in the Limpopo Province, South Africa (NRF Thuthuka Programme)

Dr. MJ Themane

Child Friendly School UNICEF, DoE (Limpopo) and LINK
HEAIDS with DoE (National) Piloting HIV and AIDS in Higher Education.

Mr. LT Mabasa

Child Friendly School UNICEF, DoE (Limpopo) and LINK

Mr. MJS Mboweni

Child Friendly Schools- UNICEF, DOE and LINK
HIV and AIDS Basic Counselling with DoE ( Limpopo )
HEAIDS with DoE (National) Piloting HIV and AIDS in Higher Education.

Mr. I Cook

Physical Activity Epidemiology in Rural Populations – collaboration with Medical Sciences (University of Limpopo) and Umeå International School of Public Health, Umeå University, Sweden.

Prof M Maruma

Prof Mahlapahlapana Themane

Head of Department

DEPARTMENT CONTACTS

Education Studies (EDST)

Prof. M.J Themane
Tel: 015 268 3149/2928
E-mail: mahlapahlapana.themane@ul.ac.za