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- This conceptual study explores the dynamic interplay between Quality Assurance (QA) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) as mechanisms for empowering academic identity and advancing transformative educational practice in higher education. The paper argues that QA has evolved beyond its traditional compliance-oriented function to become a developmental and scholarly process that reinforces reflective practice, professional autonomy, and institutional credibility. Within the South African context, QA is increasingly positioned as a catalyst for pedagogical innovation and scholarly engagement, aligning teaching and learning with national transformation imperatives and global competitiveness. Drawing from recent literature (2020–2025), the study conceptualises QA as a vehicle for embedding SoTL within institutional cultures, fostering continuous improvement and scholarly teaching. The analysis demonstrates that QA-driven processes such as peer review, curriculum alignment, and systematic evaluation facilitate evidence-based decision-making, strengthen academic agency, and enhance the quality of student learning outcomes. Furthermore, the integration of QA with SoTL is shown to enhance institutional reputation and accountability by situating academics as co-creators of educational quality rather than passive recipients of policy mandates. This engagement promotes reflective inquiry, collaborative knowledge sharing, and the development of professional communities of practice that reinforce academic identity as both scholarly and transformative. The paper also situates QA within broader global educational trends such as internationalisation, digitalisation, and inclusivity arguing that QA frameworks grounded in SoTL enable academics to adapt to these shifts through innovation and research-informed teaching. Through this reframing, QA is reconceptualised as a scholarly and developmental process that validates academic expertise, encourages reflective pedagogy, and sustains institutional excellence. Ultimately, the study concludes that advancing SoTL through QA not only strengthens academic identity but also enhances institutional legitimacy and global competitiveness. By embedding QA within SoTL driven frameworks, higher education institutions can cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, scholarly teaching, and transformative practice that redefines academic professionalism and drives systemic educational reform.
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- The surge and expansion of Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in South Africa is an indication that the private sector education is making significant progress. As a result, the PHEIs are considered as being in competition with Public Higher Institutions. This situation is envisaged to influence the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to tighten its policies in order to control the PHEIS. Using the Octet quality theory, developed by Zaki and Zaki Rashidi. and the documentary content analysis research method, this study analyses ways in which quality assurance is used to curtail the growth of PHEIS. The findings of the study showed that some of the contributions of PHEIs are driven by the demand for higher learning opportunities in the republic, though faced by various challenges and barriers in fulfilling the quality assurance requirements in respect of accreditation the DHET. The paper submits that PHEIS are not in competition with Public Higher Educational Institutions, rather they are to be seen as complementing the vision of the DHET in its efforts to improve the South African Higher Education System. Thus, partnership between the private and the public institutions is recommended for the achievement of desired positive impacts.
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- 2019| IFE Centre for Psych...The study investigates the implementation of Annual National Assessments on teaching and learning in King Cetshwayo district primary schools in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.The Annual National Assessments as a form of standardised test is not a new phenomenon within the education systems, especially in developed countries. The Department of Basic Education in South Africa resorted to Annual National Assessments as a strategy to respond to the national outcry about the quality of education in the country. Of great concern was the learners’ poor performance in English and Mathematics. This study employed a qualitative design to gather systematic, comprehensive and in-depth information. Data were collected using focus group interviews from twenty grade six English and Mathematics teachers. Data collected was transcribed, categorized and presented as themes with verbatim quotes from the participants to support the themes. The findings reveal that most teachers lack requisite knowledge of English and Mathematics ANA to improve learners’ performance. Findings further revealed that teachers lack the knowledge to use ANA data to improve learners’ performance. This can be attributed to the fact that teachers were neither involved in the implementation and development of English and Mathematics ANA to improve learner achievement. The study also confirms that there are inadequate teacher development programmes for English and Mathematics to regularly capacitate them on how to improve learner results in English and Mathematics ANA. The study, therefore, recommends that the Department of Basic Education should ensure that educator developmental programmes are conducted as frequently as possible in cluster, circuit and in district level to enrich teachers with pedagogical knowledge that they need to improve their learners’ English and Mathematics’ ANA performance. Curriculum advisors and School Management Teams should strengthen their supervision and monitoring in schools to help motivate teachers and learners to work more efficiently and effectively.
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