SCHOOL FOUNDATIONS, the role of initial teacher education in South African primary schooling

189pp., paperback, HSRC Press, Cape Town, 2026

ISBN: 9780796927309

This study investigates why so many South African children leaving the early grades are unable to read or do basic arithmetic by examining South Africa’s Initial Teacher Education system and how teachers who specialise in Foundation and Intermediate Phase teaching are selected, trained, and prepared for the classroom.

 Exposing a troubling gap between how literacy and numeracy are taught in schools serving poor children versus those serving middle-class children, the authors offer a bold, integrated set of recommendations and a call to action for teacher educators, policymakers, regulators, and funders to work together toward a more equitable primary school teaching force.

"Presents important research on the persistent challenges of teaching and learning literacy and mathematics in South African schools. Written with elegance and clarity ... Essential reading." Professor Linda Chisholm, University of Johannesburg

"Seamlessly combine[s] an intimate sense of teaching practice, pertinent research and sensible policy solutions ... An indispensable resource for politicians, practitioners, and professors of education if South Africa is to scale this formidable next hurdle of teacher departures in the coming years." Professor Jonathan D. Jansen, Stellenbosch University

Nick Taylor led the non-profit organisation, JET Education Services, from 1994 to 2010, where he continues to serve as Senior Research Fellow.

Irene Pampallis is a PhD candidate and sessional instructor in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand, where she also tutors and lectures pre-service primary mathematics teachers. She is affiliated with the Research on Socioeconomic Policy group at Stellenbosch University.