Research Road Map

This Research Road Map of the Institute for Education outlines the broad areas the Institute for Education is focusing on in terms of research and practice. It reflects our vision, interest, strengths and areas requiring focus in the future.

Pedagogical Practices

Pedagogical practices include the application of educational theory in the act of teaching. The main interest in this area is the multiple orientations theory informed practices give to lesson planning, delivery, and assessment. It also includes reflection on the tension between educational theory and the situatedness of the act of teaching. This research area is also interested in reflection on practice as a means of directly improving one’s practice in the classroom and as a tool for the people working in the field of education to mull over their “becoming a teacher” which puts them in control of their teacher identity and allows them to exercise it in a more authentic fashion.

This area may include, but is not limited to:

Early childhood education and care
Lifelong and Lifewide Learning
Attending to Multiple Intelligences
Teaching strategies
Assessment of Teaching and Learning
Creative Pedagogies
Critical Pedagogies

Education and Society

This research area explores the complementarity of education and society. Their interconnectedness requires examination of the purposes of education, as well as the processes, including policy.

This area may include, but is not limited to:

Colonising discourses in education
Politics of the curriculum
Individuation and enculturation
Identity and otherness
What is critique?
Education for sustainability
Social Justice in Education
Disability Issues
Intersectionality
Post-colonial studies
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Education
Experiential Learning
Digital Education
Contemporary Issues in Education
Educational Dialogue
Inclusive communities in schools

Educational leadership

Educational leadership directs and guides curricular development and implementation. It articulates the educational vision, creates the desired milieu and navigates the journey to reach the set goals. In practice, it encompasses all the processes facilitating the optimal utilisation of resources supporting the practitioner in schools and enabling success in the educational performance of the student. Educational leadership as a concept denotes authority and responsibility, however, it is also a concerted effort, drawing on the expertise and commitment of several stakeholders within the education system.

This area may include, but is not limited to:

Inspirational leadership
Effective school leadership and management
Quality assurance in schools
School improvement
School ethos
Mentoring and coaching
Leading Change
Transformational Leadership

Professional Development

Professional Development refers to the continuous growth of the practitioner; this could be facilitated through formal and/or informal training, self-sought or centrally organised initiatives and any other experiences that contribute to the professional progression of the individual. Activities that promote personal growth may also contribute significantly to the professional advancement of the practitioner.

This area may include, but is not limited to:

Strategic professional growth
Lifelong Learning
Reflective practice

Well-being

Well-being is what every individual strives for. The individual may experience different types of well-being including: the emotional, the physical, the psychological, the social, the vocational and the moral. All these work in an intricate manner to make a whole individual who is made from different aspects which affect each other. Research in well-being delves deep into these concepts and focuses on personal and social competences, resilience and quality of life.

This area may include, but is not limited to:

Educator Empowerment
Holistic education
Equity in education
Quality of Life
Health and Well-being in Schools
Empowerment

Novel trends in educational theory and practice

The present age requires a paradigm shift in the way teachers are teaching and students are learning to ensure the overall wellbeing of all involved in the education process. This requires a shift away from the conventional pattern. Such changes in educational patterns require open-mindedness and new schools of thought and practices regarding teaching and learning at all levels within the educational sector.

This area may include, but is not limited to:

Neuroscience
Technology enhanced and Remote Teaching and Learning
Artificial intelligence
Education for Sustainable Development