This article explores the experiences of History and Social Sciences (History) trainee teachers (n=33) and their learners during the implementation of five versatile and innovative alternative performance assessment strategies in their diverse classroom settings during their practicum at schools. Originally designed for the corporate staff training environment, and subsequently utilised as community building and data collection techniques in a participative community-engaged research project, these five interactive activities were adapted to act as innovative teaching and alternative formative performance assessment strategies in the History classroom, the latter of which is the main focus of this article. The article is anchored in a social constructivist and dialogic theoretical framework and argues that alternative performance assessment techniques that are non-graded, interactive, formative and dialogic in nature, take place within an atmosphere of emotional safety, and integrate a strong element of enjoyment, are able to remove the anxiety that often characterises both summative and graded formative assessment. This, in turn, makes learners more receptive to learning and brings History to life in the classroom. In an attempt to answer two interrelated research questions: "how did trainee History teachers experience the implementation of innovative alternative performance assessment strategies", and "how did they perceive the response of the learners to a fresh approach to formative assessment", the article employs a qualitative research methodology which rests on research findings generated through the use of data gathered from written, visual and oral feedback from the participants during and after a practical workshop which prepared them for the implementation phase of the study. The research findings suggest, inter alia, that both the trainee teachers and their learners enjoyed a fresh, non-threatening approach to formative assessment and that the learners participated freely and enthusiastically in groups when implementing these formative assessment strategies. Yesterday&Today, No. 22, December 2019 The findings also indicate some challenges including time management, classroom management, and appropriate facilitation skills in managing more advanced learners who, it was found, tended to overpower less confident learners in their groups. It finally offers recommendations for improvement should History teachers prefer to implement these alternative performance assessment strategies in their classrooms.

African Horse Sickness (AHS) is a devastating, non-contagious, infectious, insect-borne disease of equids. AHS is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Culicoides midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) act as vectors for the transmission of the causative agent, African Horse Sickness virus (AHSV). It is considered to be one of the most lethal horse diseases with mortality rates exceeding 80% in susceptible hosts. The AHS season is one of the most critical times for any horse owner in southern Africa. This dreadful disease has caused losses of great economic and emotional value for as long as horses have been on the African continent. The objective of this article is to assess the historical prevalence, distribution and influence of AHS in Namibia over the past approximately 200 years by discussing historical events that influenced the distribution of this disease. It was found that several major historical events played a role, since the introduction of horses to southern Africa with AHS influenced the outcomes of some of these events. The most important observations made during this investigation were the underreporting of AHS in Namibia, as well as the distribution across the districts. The importance of the effects of AHS on historical events is highlighted, with the limited movement of horses during the AHS seasons being an imperative historical precaution.

Managing History learning and teaching in schools of South Africa over the years has been characterised by diverse opinions regarding the causes of learner underperformance, who is to be held responsible over learner performance and possible leadership influence on History learner performance. In addressing the problem of underperformance in History from a leadership point of view, the researchers were guided by the managerial leadership and humanism learning theories. The selected qualitative methodology adopted an ethnographic design to establish hidden inferences. A sample of thirty participants comprising the provincial coordinator for History, subject advisor, principals, departmental heads, teachers and learners was obtained based on the availability of History-offering schools in the study area. Data collection was mainly through interviews and meta-analysis of documents. Both deductive and inductive reasoning was applied using ATLAS.ti version 8.4 and thematic analysis in the data analyses process. The findings suggest several managerial leadership measures ranging from policy to practice. These amongst others include the recommendation that History as part of social science should be separated in totality from Geography.

The History Ministerial Task Team Report (MTT), published in February 2018, has been awaited by educators of History in South Africa for them to be informed on thoughts, trends and statuses of compulsory History Education in schools globally. Educators also hoped to be informed about other important aspects of History education, such as educators' impressions of the 2011 Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for History and possibilities for revision. Other concerns on the table included the field of teacher training, as well as the financial and logistical implications of transforming History teaching into a compulsory subject. The major purpose of this paper is to reflect on the History MTT's discussion of the status of, specifically, compulsory History in Africa and further afield, and to establish whether the MTT's report can in this regard serve as a reliable indicator for making any informed decision on whether History Educationin South African schools should indeed be compulsory up to the Grade 12 level. The authors contest the quality of the research conducted by the History MTT pertaining to compulsory History in other countries, which in turn questions the reliability of the Report in its entirety, but which unfortunately cannot be afforded attention in this paper due to lack of space. Given this contestation on quality pertaining to the first section of the History MTT report, the authors make some observations and propose recommendations to the Department of Basic Education, who commissioned the History MTT. The essence thereof is to strongly suggest that much more thorough research should be conducted than that received by the DBE in this Report, to ensure more responsible considerations and points of departure than those currently unfolding.

This paper aims to elucidate upon a model that imbeds historical skills, concepts and categorizations into a source-based analysis approach utilizing levels of cognitive complexity by combining different types of sources into a coherent system. This model will focus on the South African school context. In this paper, concepts such as cause and effect and chronology will be explored, as well as historical categorizations of social, economic and political history. The taxonomy of source-based questioning will also be highlighted, as well as the variety of sources that could be used in a history classroom. Various theories and perspectives have emerged in the field of History, and these will also be explored to better understand the model in question. The paper will conclude with an in-depth explanation as to how this Historically Imbedded Source-Based Analysis Model could be used in the history classroom and the potential benefits that this model holds. Keywords: Historiography; Levels of questioning; Cognitive complexity; Source-Based Analysis Model (HISBAM); History classroom; South Africa; Curriculum