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There is a concern in South Africa that most learners arrive at university underprepared. This is also a major concern for students who enroll for the BEd programme specialising in geography education. Due to the learners' articulation gap, they are unable to cope with the standard that is expected of them. Hence this study investigated the level of geography learners' preparedness when they arrive at university. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges experienced by geography students in their first-year of study. The researchers used a qualitative approach grounded in phenomenology as the research design. Purposive sampling was used to select students who failed geography education in both semesters in their first-year of study, the academic year 2016. Two lecturers who teach geography in the first-year were sampled. The geography curriculum used in the secondary schools and university were also reviewed to determine the extent of alignment between the two. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. The results of the study revealed that geography students enter university without proper preparation, and are therefore unable to cope with their first-year of study. The study further revealed that teachers who teach geography in secondary school are not sufficiently trained to teach geography, which results in their engaging in surface learning as opposed to deep learning. The study recommends that there be collaboration between secondary schools and universities to discuss the university's expectations with regard to learner preparedness. Moreover, geography teachers should be trained on an ongoing basis in order for them to keep up with current trends in the area of geography education.

Blended learning combines the strength of face-to-face learning with e-learning, which has become the catalyst for education reform today. Unfortunately there are many obstacles that can derail this format of hybrid learning before it can reach its full potential, especially at universities where budgetary constraints inhibit the development of the information and communication infrastructure. This study seeks to capture students’ perceptions regarding web-based activities at a rural university. Purposive sampling was used to generate the sample and a combined total of 380 second- and third-year students participated in this study. Second- and third-year students were selected as it is expected that they have experienced the university learning management system and its shortcomings, and are hence in a posistion to compare the learning management system with social media platforms. The data collection instrument was a self-administered questionnaire, which was analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings indicate that students at the rural university preferred to engage in blended learning through social networking technologies, as opposed to the learning management system, which they found was mostly unavailable or inaccessible at their residences.

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There has been a general outcry in South Africa that learners’ reading ability has deteriorated. This could be attributed to the fact that since 1998, new curricula were consistently introduced and changed with an aim of redressing the legacy of apartheid. The whole process of curriculum change not only affected the learners’ ability to read, write and count, but the quality of education as well. When reading skill are not developed, learners cannot cope with their academic responsibilities. The aim of this article is to determine whether the recent curriculum, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), gives the teaching and learning of reading skills the necessary attention, and whether there is improvement in the reading ability of learners. The study used the mixed methods approach, but focused mainly on the qualitative approach, and employed a small scale quantitative focus to collect data from grade ten English First Additional Language (EFAL) learners and their educators, as well as curriculum policy documents. Although on paper CAPS seems to be a good curriculum, three years after its inception, educators are concerned about the reading ability of EFAL learners who are in grade ten in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. Findings from educators and learners’ data indicate that there are some learners who can read well and those who are lagging behind. The challenge of educators not receiving intense training in order to implement the new curriculum was also highlighted. The study recommends that training of educators to implement the new curriculum EFAL educators should focus on building vocabulary and teaching comprehension skills so that the reading levels of EFAL learners in the FET phase can be enhanced.

Mother tongue instruction in education is practiced in many countries across the world. The South African scenario is unique in this regard. Whilst many nations have identified one national language by which their populace can be identified, in South Africa, there are eleven such languages. The problem is that many of the South African languages are indigenous to specific provinces. In the Limpopo province, for example, three official indigenous African languages are spoken. This makes instruction in the mother tongue complex. This study examined mother tongue instruction in schools in the Limpopo province. The aim of the study was to investigate whether mother tongue instruction is possible in a province that has three African indigenous languages, in addition to English and Afrikaans. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The sample consisted of schools in areas of the province where the different languages are spoken. In addition, the sample also consisted of schools from multicultural settings, mainly found in urban areas. In total 12 schools were selected. The data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The data revealed that mother tongue education is possible in situations where all the children speak one or two of the national languages. Where more than two languages are spoken as mother tongue, there are challenges determining the medium of instruction. The biggest challenge in such a case is the provision of learner-support materials (LSM). Another associated challenge is class size. Broader challenges include shortages of suitably qualified teachers. Recommendations of this study are: mother tongue instruction must be approached and funded systemically; learnersupport materials must be developed before implementation of such a system; mother tongue instruction should also be available in multicultural schools; school facilities should be standardised so that demand on well-resourced schools is minimised.

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