Faculty of Education
Prof I Eloff, Dean
Telephone number: 012 420 3513
E-mail address: irma.eloff@up.ac.za
Message by the Dean
Some of the best educational researchers on the continent of Africa
make the Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria their home.
Consequently, this Faculty is where you will find leading studies on effective
schools, resilience, positive psychology, school governance, education law,
academic writing interventions, mathematics education, early childhood
education, life design, the literacy levels of South African children and life
sciences education. The footprint of the Faculty's research extends well
beyond South African borders, with regional studies in Botswana, Kenya,
Zimbabwe and other African countries.
During 2011, the Faculty of Education increased its number
of NRF-rated researchers, with an additional five researchers
receiving NRF ratings. These were Prof Saloshna Vandeyar,
Prof Venitha Pillay, Prof Jan Nieuwenhuis, Prof Adelia Carstens
and Dr Vanessa Scherman. This was also a year of awards for
researchers in the Faculty: Dr Carien Lubbe-De Beer won the
award of the Education Association of South Africa (EASA)
for Emerging Researcher and Prof Saloshna Vandeyar won the
American Education Research Association (AERA), Division K
(Teaching and Teacher Education) mid-career award.
The Faculty launched new book publications and two new reading series in 2011. The Early Childhood Reading Series by Dr Ina
Joubert, Dr Nkidi Phatudi and Annalie Botha is published by Oxford University Press. The Spot On Reading Series by Dr Nkidi Phatudi
is written in Setswana and Sepedi and published by Heinemann. The books published by members of the Faculty included Vuvuzela
Afrikaans by Dr Alta Engelbrecht and Dina Cloete, as well as the scholarly book Hyphenated selves by Prof Saloshna Vandeyar. Three
instruments for the assessment of Mathematics, namely Study Orientation for Mathematics, the Basic Mathematics Questionnaire
and the Mathematics Vocabulary, Primary, have been acquired by universities in Portugal and are being translated into Portuguese.
These questionnaires were designed and standardised by Prof Kobus Maree.
The international ties of the Faculty were strengthened even further in 2011. Most prominently, Prof Johan Beckmann was appointed
as Adjunct (Honorary) Professor to the National Training Centre for Secondary School Principals of the Chinese National Ministry
of Education at East China Normal University. Prof Liesel Ebersöhn was invited as visiting scholar to the Edith Cowan University in
Australia. She has also been nominated to a task team for worldwide research problems in education - working with Dr Carol D
Lee from Northwestern University in Chicago and Michael Nettles, the Senior Vice-president of the Policy Evaluation and Research
Centre. Dr Mia Abrie and Erik Eberlein were invited as visiting scholars to the North Eastern Normal University (NENU) in China.
Prof Venitha Pillay was invited to collaborate on an international study on women academics in India, Brazil and South Africa.
Prof Kobus Maree worked on a project on the development of a framework for the implementation of psychometric tests in the
Ministry of Education in Botswana.
The Faculty of Education has long-term collaborative partnerships with various international institutions: Yale University (USA),
the University of Durham (UK), the University of Dortmund (Germany), the University of Hamburg (Germany), the universities of
Groningen and Twente (Netherlands), Boston College (USA), the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA), Antioch University (USA),
Concordia University (Canada), Fordham University (USA), the University of Florence (Italy), Edith Cowan University (Australia), the
Open University (UK), North Carolina State University (USA), Newcastle University (Australia), the University of Basel (Switzerland)
and the University of Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique). In 2011, Fulbright scholars from a variety of fields joined the Faculty of
Education. Dr David Thomas (Mathematics Education) joined the Faculty for a one-year period. His work includes the improvement
of the way in which Mathematics is taught by using technology. Three Fulbright scholars who focus on English and academic writing
also joined the Faculty in 2011. Geordie Brackin from Vanderbilt University, Max Cuddy from Temple University and Muriel Bird from
Fordham University spent time on the Groenkloof Campus, as well as the Mamelodi Campus, to support undergraduate students with
academic writing. They were joined by Cheryl Logan, who worked in the Faculty of Education as a visiting English language fellow.
The Faculty is home to the editorial office of the ISI-listed academic journal, the South African Journal of Psychology, led by Prof Kobus
Maree as editor in chief. The esteemed accredited journal, the South African Journal of Education, with Prof Liesel Ebersöhn as editor,
is also housed in the Faculty of Education.
The Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria is fully committed to growing the exceptional talent of young people and
researchers in education. It is embracing the many challenges of educational research with a strong focus on educational effectiveness.
Prof Irma Eloff
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