Schools must allow parents’ voices to be heard to ensure quality education

In Ganyesa, a small village outside of Vryburg in the North West, Mme Mashego*, an enthusiastic mother to a grade 6 learner, takes pride in going to her son’s school a week before assessments start to encourage learners to study and try their best at school. While Mme Mashego did not finish school, she wants […]

Basic Education Employment Initiative is scoring points on youth employment – don’t pull the funding plug

With just under half of young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 34 without any learning or earning opportunities, interventions addressing this crisis are often caught between expanding reach and achieving real impact. The Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) is a case in point. Born out of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, the BEEI was launched at the end of […]

Hands-on Learning Issue 24

Through the newly rebranded edition of our Hands-on Learning publication developed in June 2023, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others are able to draw from and build on their experiences. Escaping The Inequality […]

Learning Brief – Power, Access And Agency: Understanding Barriers To Parental Involvement

Parents are the first educators of their children. Their ability to know and love their children has unparalleled benefits. Research shows that encouragement and support from parents/caregivers, not necessarily assistance with specific homework, improves learner achievement even for children attending schools where the education offered is not of the highest quality. Although parents have untapped […]

Learning Brief: Breaking the cycle – teenage pregnancy and school dropout

Although rates of teenage pregnancy in South Africa have been steadily declining, adolescent girls are still more likely to become pregnant in South Africa than in most low- and middle-income countries. Early and unintended pregnancy can severely disrupt a young person’s chances of completing school with a matric certificate. There is a mutually reinforcing relationship […]

Encouraging and championing your child during exams

Parent Power aims to inspire and support parents in South Africa – empowering them to be champions for their children’s education. The key aspects of the initiative are: Building the identity of parents as powerful and key participants in the education of their children; Driving school activation and mobilisation for quality learning; and Sharing parents’ […]

SGBs: What parents need to know

Parent Power aims to inspire and support parents in South Africa – empowering them to be champions for their children’s education. SGB elections take place every three years in public schools, and by standing for election, or by voting someone in, parents have the chance to make sure that their voice is heard and that […]

Hands-on Learning Issue 18

Through our Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learned so that others are able to draw from and build on their experiences. Read below a short synopsis of what you can find in Hands-on […]