UP Journals (Univ. of Pretoria)
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Geography teachers’ preparedness for ESD integration: Insights from Gauteng, South Africa
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This study examined the preparedness of grade 10 to 12 Geography teachers at selected schools in Gauteng, South Africa, to integrate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into the Geography curriculum. Data were collected by questionnaires with 120 Further Education and Training Geography teachers in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Results show that only 38% of respondents had ESD training, influencing their content knowledge and integration of ESD into the curriculum. However, respondents with a high level of knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ESD concepts like climate change, renewable energy and the just energy transition were more likely to integrate ESD (r=0.444, p=0.001). University courses were identified as common sources of content knowledge for in-service teachers. Barriers to ESD integration include limited resources, time constraints, large class sizes, the abstract nature of the SDGs, and competing curriculum demands. Further Education and Training research projects were identified as a valuable entry-point for ESD. The study recommends ESD-training, expert guest teachers, embedding ESD within annual teaching plans, and adequate resources
Assessment of Geography Grade 10 learners’ environmental attitudes and values in selected secondary schools in Lesotho through the lens of the New Ecological Paradigm
No full textIt is generally acknowledged that education, through school subjects such as Geography, plays a pivotal role in fostering positive environmental attitudes and values necessary for addressing global imperatives of environmental sustainability. However, while the Geography curriculum in Lesotho, and elsewhere, has been oriented towards education for sustainable development (ESD), there is a paucity of research on learners’ environmental attitudes and values. This study assessed Grade 10 learners’ environmental attitudes and values at four secondary schools in Leribe district, Lesotho. Fifteen statements, derived from the revised New Environmental Paradigm scale, were given, to which the learners were able to agree or disagree, using a five-point Likert scale. Results indicate that the learners generally possess pro-environmental biospheric and altruistic attitudes and values, with little indication of egoistic values. The results can shed light on the possible contribution of ESD-related curriculum reforms in fostering more pro-environmental attitudes and values as antecedents of environmental sustainability
A scoping review of Geography Education Research in South Africa, 2014-2025
No full textIn a world of rapid socioecological change and intensifying geopolitical and environmental crises, Geography Education has an important role in addressing global challenges by developing learners who have knowledge of places and natural forces at work, and of the interactions between the natural and social worlds. This study provides insights for understanding how Geography Education research in schooling and teacher education in South Africa is contributing to the field of Geography Education in general, and how it is (or is not) responding to calls from within and outside the field of enquiry for teaching and learning that address global concerns. Drawing on the six-stage research methodology framework used by Arksey & O’Malley (2005), this paper presents a scoping literature review of Geography Education research in South Africa from January 2014 to September 2025 based on a dataset of 102 published peer-reviewed journal articles. The overview is used to identify thematic and methodological trends, and research gaps. Results indicate that Geography Education research in South Africa is actively contributing to the field through small-scale, empirical studies that are mostly practice-oriented and focused on problems associated with curriculum, teacher and learner perceptions, and knowledge and teaching practices. Less attention is paid to learning, assessment, theory building and engaging with global education calls for transformative education that advance the field theoretically and pedagogically
Eulogy for Prof Maxi Schoeman
No full text“For many of us, Prof. was immortal… a piece of her lives on in all of us
Editorial
No full textAspects which characterise the broader context and current situation of design practice in South Africa receive a fair amount of consideration in this edition of Image and Text. A re-emphasis on the importance · of design in both economic and social arenas, greater international acceptance and the opening up of global markets in the aftermath of sanctions all serve to highlight problems arid challenges facing design. The present economic climate, the level of industrialisation, little understanding of the impact of design and the general standard of design awareness are listed as impediments to the development of design
National symbols
No full textAs the winds of political change sweep over South Africa, the question of the relevance existing national symbols is increasingly under discussion. While ideological issues often dominate this discussion, aesthetic and practical production aspects also need to be addressed in the creation of a new national identity
Regionalism and a South African architectural identity
No full textThe much discussed issue of identity, addressed virtually worldwide by Postmodernism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, has gained new currency in South Africa as a result of the country\u27s recent political change and process of transformation, which prompted a reassessment of the past and the redefinition of values.\u27 The architectural discipline has not been unaffected by this process, both in theory and in practice. As a result, the pursuit of a distinctly South African architectural identity, conventionally labelled \u27regionalist architecture\u27, has surfaced again.\u27 However, the issue of regionalism versus internationalism has occupied architectural debate throughout the twentieth century in one form or another. The following article examines how a South African architecture has been defined at various times, and surveys some of the controversies and issues associated with regionalism in South Africa
Book review
No full textFilm analysis is framed by a discourse of sociable, even symbiotic tensions – between the remnant of a clannish Formalism and the traces of an elastic Postmodernism; between written traditions and improvisational whims; between formula and novelty; between connoisseur and opinionated pleb. The (happy?) medium may perhaps be found in the visually and technologically overstimulated youth of today who, on the surface at least, seem so adept in film analysis. Yet, although these juvenile experts are experienced in casually reading signs, they are decidedly deficient in formally elocuting them. Enter Leon van Nierop
Trajectories of solidarities in Asia and beyond. The work of Arahmaiani, Phoebe Ching Ying Man and Sun Shaokun: Arts activisms and gender-based violence through transnational perspectives
No full textIn this article, I explore how three women artists working in Asia and beyond – Arahmaiani (Indonesia, b. 1961), Phoebe Ching Ying Man (Hong Kong, b.1969), and Sun Shaokun (People’s Republic of China, 1980-2016) – employ diverse artistic media to address gendered violence in their specific cultural contexts, while building transcultural solidarities. Notions of visual activism, feminism and solidarity are interwoven to critically analyse Burning body, burning country (1998, 1999 and 2024) by Arahmaiani, Rewriting history (2009-2012) by Phoebe Man, and Circumcision (2014) by Sun Shaokun. These works are feminist interventions that respond to gendered violence, such as rape and female genital mutilation, and expose marginalised stories of sufferance, trauma and healing. I discuss how their feminist visual activism transcends cultural and geographical boundaries, and contributes to larger dialogues on gendered violence, activating spaces for solidarities and advocacy for gender justice in Asia and beyond
Empowering student agency in academic advising through design thinking: Voices of academic advisors
No full textDesign thinking is a human-centred approach that offers practical methods and tools that can be used by academic advisors to enhance innovation, develop meaningful problem-solving strategies, and drive change in student academic advising sessions. Academic advising can be regarded as a critical component of student success; however, many students and advisors struggle to engage deeply in the advising process in a shared and reciprocal manner. This study addresses this issue by adopting a design thinking approach to support students during the academic advising process. The study explored how the adapted design thinking process at a particular institution enhanced student– advisor agency, collaboration, and student-centred engagement. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, drawing on Schön’s (1991) reflective model. Qualitative data were collected from the three advisors’ reflective reports and one focus group interview. Thematic analyses were used to identify key patterns and themes. The design thinking approach gave rise to four key themes: (1) timely and focused advising, (2) knowledge building and information sharing, (3) reciprocal conversations, and (4) agency. The findings reveal that the application of design thinking in academic advising enabled advisors to shift their advising sessions from a prescriptive to a developmental approach, thereby fostering a deeper and more collaborative engagement with students