The Discipline offers courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. At the undergraduate level, we teach Educational Foundations courses: Philosophy, Sociology, Curriculum, History, and others, as well as Professional Studies. These are compulsory areas for all initial teacher education (ITE) students. In this regard, we are the ‘backbone’ of all Disciplines in the School.
At the postgraduate level, the Discipline offers courses in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development Studies. We teach at BEd Honours, MEd, and PhD levels. The combination of our programmes seeks to develop professionals who can competently respond to today’s social and educational challenges, including HIV/AIDS, transformation, digital technologies, and diversity (including race, gender, class, and sexual orientation), etc.
Our academic team is a combination of seasoned and budding researchers. The Discipline is home to the former dean, DVC, and provides leadership in curriculum, teaching, and research development for the entire School.
Research and publication are a significant part of our core business. The Discipline boasts four NRF-rated staff members: Prof Bheki Khoza, Prof Thabo Msibi, Prof Carol Bertram, and Prof Daisy Pillay. We are also growing our team by implementing strategies such as the appointment of honorary professors to support our team members. We are thrilled to have globally renowned scholars such as Professors William Pinar, Pat Sikes, Nany Lesko, Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan, and Deneese Jones associated with our Discipline. We are keen to link up with more academics who research and publish in areas related to ours. We also believe in interdisciplinary research and have taken leadership nationally in research areas such as Self-study and Narrative research, teacher education policy development, educational technology, and LGBTQIA+ research.
Please feel free to browse through our staff profiles to identify the various experts we have in the Discipline.
The two subdisciplines of Education Studies are:
Curriculum Studies (Prof Simon Bhekumuzi Khoza khozas@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Oluwatoyin Ayodele Ajani AjaniO@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Lerato Hlengiwe Sokhulu SokhuluL@ukzn.ac.za; DR Lokesh Ramnath Maharajh Maharajhlr@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Mildred Nomkhosi Nzimande nzimandem2@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Lungile Masinga Masingal@ukzn.ac.za; Mrs Nombuso Patience Gabela GabelaN@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Pryah Mahabeer mahabeerp3@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Makhosazana Shoba Shobam@ukzn.ac.za) and
Teacher Development Studies (Prof Carol Bertram BertramC@ukzn.ac.za; Prof Daisy Pillay Pillaygv@ukzn.ac.za; Prof Anja Philipp PhilippA@ukzn.ac.za; Prof Jaqueline Naidoo NaidooJ@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Free-Queen Bongiwe Zulu ZuluF1@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Ntokozo Sibusisiwe Mkhize MkhizeN39@ukzn.ac.za; Dr Nosipho Precious Bele BeleN1@ukzn.ac.za)