Research
Research Reports
Research Abstracts
Dissertations
The Rhodes University Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education (PECE) is staffed with dedicated staff and students who are committed to educational and socio-economic redress and transformation within the challenging post-colonial context of South Africa and our continent. Central to these ideals is our commitment to supporting multilingualism, literacy, and numeracy, interdisciplinary approaches, extensive subject knowledge including indigenous and other situated knowledge, creative and innovative classroom pedagogies (such as play-based and experiential learning), and critical assessment practices.
We aim to cultivate competent, creative, and reflective Foundation Phase teachers who can understand and adapt their teaching for diverse learning contexts.
Our expanding programs in leadership and management, creative arts, mathematics education, multilingualism, STEAM Education, and Education for Sustainable Development lead and contribute to international research programs and attract high-quality researchers from across Africa. These researchers explore effective teaching and learning processes and engage in practice-based research to develop scholarly solutions for contextually relevant educational challenges, addressing local and global sustainability education needs. Our postgraduate scholars benefit from a series of research design courses, doctoral weeks, and research schools to support their academic endeavours.
Research Reports
Research Abstracts
Dissertations
Plagiarism
Due Performance
Coursework Guide
Tutorials
Shape the Future of Education
Join a passionate community at Rhodes University’s Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education. Here, you’ll work alongside educators and researchers who challenge inequality and reimagine teaching for diverse South African classrooms. Whether you're interested in creative pedagogy, multilingual learning, or sustainability in education—this is where meaningful change begins.
Teachers in Grades R to 3 lay the foundation for quality education. They nurture every aspect of the development of children’s capabilities. Dedicated and competent Foundation Phase teachers are therefore the key to a successful education system. In the programme, you will be exposed to opportunities to engage critically with the world around you. Our graduates emerge with a solid foundation for stepping into a primary classroom prepared with creative, engaging and meaningful practices and resources.
The Centre for Social Development envisions vibrant communities that take responsibility for the early childhood developmental needs of their children as a foundation for achieving human potential. The CSD facilitates the development of early childhood communities and imparts skills to teachers and practitioners to strengthen community owned initiatives. Our practice is based on caring professionalism that builds relationships which affirm and support the ability of people to arrive at their own solutions.
We do this through strategic partnerships and, a number of community-based early childhood education initiatives, and teacher development qualifications such as the Bachelor of Education in-service degree program, Advanced Certificate programme, and most recently – the Coaching Course.
The Honours degree prepares students for research-based postgraduate studies. It is offered on a part-time basis over two years. A number of B Ed Hons specialisms are offered in the Education Faculty. The first year of the degree is common to all the Hons degrees. Educational Issues and Ideas
(30 C) and Research in Education (30 credits) constitute this foundation year.
Two of the specialisms have their home the Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education.
The two specialism courses (each 30 credits) constitute the second year of the degree.
The focus of this specialism is on quality teaching and learning from Grade R to Grade 7. The year consists of two modules, which are strongly connected. Building connected knowledge is an important emphasis in quality Primary Education and so the connections between and within the two modules are an important aspect of learning on the course.
Module A: Quality in Primary Education. In this module, students will construct a broad overview of Primary knowledge, explore the connections within and between the 3 main subject fields, and work to understand the connections between society, school learning, and children’s social environments. They will then use this understanding to engage critically with current debates that relate to quality in Primary Education
Module B: Research in Primary Education. Students will each carry out a research project that will research the process of enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in one particular area of their teaching practice. Each student will work closely with a subject specialist in the Department, who will guide and supervise their work.
The ELM specialism is designed as a service learning initiative; i.e. a credit bearing course which links the academic learning with community service experiences. Students are expected to lead an organised service activity in their schools and reflect on the process in such a way as to gain understanding of course content, appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. This specialism is made up of two courses. The First, Theory, Policy and Practice, introduces students to a range of contemporary ELM approaches and theories. The second aims to deepen
expertise and develop research capacity in the methodology and techniques of ELM and foster a high level of theoretical
Our expanding research programmes in leadership and management, creative arts, mathematics and mathematics literacy education, multilingualism, STEAM Education and Education for Sustainable Development; lead and contribute to international research programmes and attract high quality researchers from around Africa. These researchers explore enabling teaching and learning processes and practice engaged research, in which they develop scholarly solutions for contextually relevant education challenges, and address local and global
sustainability education needs. Our postgraduate scholars are supported by a long-standing series of research design courses, doctoral weeks and research schools.