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The paper investigates allocation of time as strategy established by communities of practice to enhance continuing professional teachers' development in selected high schools. Having sufficient time by teachers to collaborate together and learn is essential to enhancing their professional development. The study adopted qualitative research approach and case study research design. Findings revealed that time allocated for communities of practice are limited which do not enable teachers to have opportunity to learn as a team. The study concluded that teachers do not have sufficient time to engage in collaborative learning activities. It is recommended that teachers should spend adequate time for learning activities in communities of practice. Regular and fixed time should be allocated for communities of practice such that teachers will have enough time to collaborate. Teachers should meet at least once in a week for a minimum of 1 hour in schools for communities of practice.

BackgroundThere is need for ‘high-quality’ teachers who are equipped to meet the needs of all learners through provision of education for an inclusive society according to equal opportunities to all.ObjectiveThis paper investigates pockets of good practice in the adaptation of the curriculum for the inclusion of learners with special education needs (SEN) in selected primary schools in the Fort Beaufort District.MethodThe study adopted a qualitative research approach and employed a case study design. Eight teachers and 10 principals from 10 selected primary schools, 4 education district officials and 1 provincial official were interviewed. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Data were collected using document analysis and semi-structured interviews and were analysed thematically.ResultThe study established that teachers use methods relating to different teaching strategies, individual work, group work and extra work.ConclusionIt was concluded that there are pockets of good practice of inclusion policy such as the use of different teaching strategies, individual work, group work and extra work for inclusion of learners with SEN in some of the selected primary schools in the poor rural context. The paper recommends adequate training for teachers in curriculum adaptation in order for all teachers to accommodate learners with SEN.

This paper examines the influence of teachers' learning styles on their classroom teaching and learning practices. The reported mixed method study was conducted in various school districts in a large province in South Africa. The data was collected with the use of questionnaires administered to primary school natural science teachers and classroom observations made during a science lesson. The study examined the preferred learning styles of primary school science teachers. It then investigated how they taught natural science and attempted to establish if their learning styles influenced teaching and learning in their classrooms. Findings from the questionnaires showed that most teachers preferred or learned better partly through visual, active, sequential and intuitive learning styles. However, analyses of classroom observations revealed a contradiction as the teachers' proclaimed learning styles were not emulated, translated into or visible in their classroom teaching practices. The researcher argues and concludes that the teachers' learning styles do not necessary shape or influence their classroom teaching practices.