University Of Johannesburg Education

The Faculty review was an important milestone and an excerpt from the conclusion of the review report aptly summarises the progress that the Faculty has been making: “The overall impression of the panel was that the Faculty of Education is making excellent progress towards meeting its goal of global excellence while it continues to serve its students well and contributes to the quality of educational research, teacher preparation, and school-based practices in South Africa.”

The foci of the Faculty’s activities on the Soweto Campus is in three areas, namely Educational Psychology, Education Leadership and Management and Childhood Education. The campus is also the home of two National Research Foundation Research Chairs, namely a chair in Education and Care in Childhood, and a chair in Integrated Studies of Learning Language, Mathematics and Science in the Primary School.

The Faculty is a leader in the country in childhood education, in terms of the large scale research that is conducted and its teacher education. The Funda UJabule School situated on the Soweto campus – a “teaching school” enables practice-based and research oriented teacher education. This is unique in the country. Childhood Education is also one of the flagship programme areas at UJ.

The postgraduate programmes in educational psychology and education leadership and management offered at the Soweto Campus are in high demand and attracts high numbers of postgraduate students.

The Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies and two academic departments are situated on the Auckland Park Kingsway Campus, namely Education and Curriculum Studies and Science and Technology Education. Though the Departments of Educational Psychology and Education Leadership and Management are officially situated on the SWC, these departments also have staff members on the APK campus. The focus of the programmes at the APK campus is mainly secondary school teacher education. Science education is one of the strongest programmes at this site. Higher education as field of study is also gaining prominence with foci on the scholarship of teaching and learning and higher education policy and leadership. The CERT, with its imperative of making a positive contribution to knowledge creation for social transformation is located on the APB campus.

As you browse our site, you will find that various programmes of activities in the Faculty bear testimony to it living up to its quest of “dynamic knowledge-making for 21st century education” in South Africa and beyond.

​Overview of the Faculty

 

	​	​Prof Sarah Gravett Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education
	​	​Prof Juliet Perumal Vice Dean: Research and Internationalization
	​	​Prof Nadine Petersen Vice Dean: Teaching and Learning

 
In the Faculty of Education we believe that education has the power to transform human lives.  The Faculty consists of a community of scholars who are enthusiastically working towards serving and building education in the greater Johannesburg area and in this country through teaching, research and community engagement.
We offer Initial Professional Education of Teachers Programmes, Continuous Professional Development of Teachers Programmes as well as Masters and Doctoral Programmes in the Faculty.

• The Initial Professional Education of Teacher Programmes (BEd and PGCE) that we offer as well as our Advanced Certificate and BEd Hons programmes aim at preparing caring, accountable and critical-reflective educational practitioners who are able to support and nurture learning and development in diverse educational contexts.
• Our Masters’ Programmes (coursework and dissertation based) aim at providing qualifying students with knowledge and skills that will enable them to function as critical-reflective, competent and accountable education practitioners and researchers who can contribute to the development of education knowledge at an advanced level.    ​
• Our Doctoral Programme Students are required to undertake research at an advanced academic level culminating in the production, defence and acceptance of a thesis. Students are guided by committed and expert supervisors to acquire and demonstrate high-level research capability and make a significant and original academic contribution to the field of Education.

Faculty staff and students are involved in a variety of research projects. There are two research centres, the Centre for Education Practice Research (CEPR) and the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT) and one institute, the Education Leadership Institute (ELI) in which research is conducted. There are also several departmental research projects in the faculty.
The Faculty is committed to community engagement that anticipates and is responsive to the needs of communities as partners in learning. The Faculty has in the past been involved in providing both educational and educational psychology services as part of its outreach and community engagement function in a number of schools and community organisations. The establishment of a core committee for Community Engagement in the Faculty in 2006 has, however, resulted in a more holistic and focused approach to this work from 2007 onwards in designated schools and communities.

As Dean of this Faculty I feel privileged to lead this vibrant Faculty and I look forward on a daily basis to make my contribution to execute our vision of a Faculty that is engaged and dynamic in advancing education as professional practice and field of scholarly inquiry through excellence in teaching, research and community service that promote freedom, democracy, equality and human dignity.

Vision

Dynamic knowledge-making for 21st century education.
 UJ Values

IMAGINATION CONVERSATION REGENERATION ETHICAL FOUNDATION Shaping the futureThinking independently Developing a cosmopolitan identity Exhibiting ambition and drive Adopting entrepreneurial approaches Learning together from our diversityMaking wise decisions collectively​ Engaging meaningfully with one another Displaying mutual respect Leading consultatively Developing sustainably through creative contributionIntros​pecting for renewal Innovating for the common good Making positive change Taking advantage of overlooked opportunities Treasuring academic freedomSeeking balance in the pursuit of knowledge Facing challenges with courage and earning ​trust Acting responsibly by being fair, consistent and transparent Participating in and helping the community (Ubuntu)*   *Ubuntu is the capacity to express compassion, justice, reciprocity, dignity, harmony and humanity in the interests of building, maintaining and strengthening the community. Ubuntu speaks to our inter-connectedness, our common humanity and the responsibility to each that flows from our connection.