Loyiso C Jita
Biographic Data
| ID | 4280241 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Loyiso C Jita |
| GIVEN NAMES | Loyiso C |
| FAMILY NAME | Jita |
| SIGNATURE | JITA L C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of the Free State |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6871-6820 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
From Blueprint to Enactment
Grounded in Stephen J. Ball’s policy enactment theory, this qualitative case study explores how three principals in Lesotho conceptualize and develop their school missions during curriculum reform. Through interviews and observations, the findings reveal that principals are not passive implementers but active policy actors, forming a distinct typology: the Entrepreneur who resists and narrates a counter-mission, the Translator who collaboratively…
Teaching in the Crucible
This descriptive, exploratory qualitative study investigates how preservice science and mathematics teachers at two South African universities navigate the alignment between career expectations and training realities. Based on interviews with seven participants, the study identifies distinct discipline-specific challenges. Science teachers faced resource shortages that required improvization without adequate laboratory equipment, while mathematic…
Parental involvement in managing senior secondary pre-class tasks for flipped mathematics instruction
The success of flipped classroom pedagogy in senior secondary mathematics relies not only on the quality of instructional design but also on the support students receive outside the classroom, especially within the home. While flipped learning continues attracting recognition, empirical evidence is limited on how parental involvement, shaped by socioeconomic conditions, influences students' management of pre-class tasks. Drawing on a combined app…
Science and Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of the Sustainability of Lesson Study Professional Development
Improving the quality of science and mathematics teaching remains a persistent challenge in resource-constrained education systems, highlighting the need for effective, sustainable professional development approaches. This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey designed to investigate science and mathematics teachers’ retrospective perceptions of the sustainability and professional value of lesson study professional development. Dat…
Examining the Self-Reported Instructional Leadership Practices of Science Heads of Departments in Lesotho Secondary Schools
Instructional leadership is crucial for improving teaching quality and student academic performance, especially in secondary schools where Heads of Department (HoDs) play a vital role. Despite this, there is no empirical evidence on how Science HoDs provide instructional leadership in Lesotho. This study looked at the self-reported instructional leadership techniques of Science HoDs in Lesotho secondary schools and whether they vary based on spec…
Reframing Teacher Instructional Leadership in Curriculum Reform
Despite ongoing curriculum and assessment reforms, secondary school Accounting education in many Global South contexts continues to reflect limited pedagogical transformation and weak curriculum coherence. In Lesotho, policy frameworks such as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy and the Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education advocate learner-centred, competence-based teaching; however, classroom enactment remains uneven, procedurally…
A comparative analysis of Foundation and early primary years mathematics curricula
Introduction: Foundational mathematics knowledge is critical for students’ mathematical development and future academic success. Methods: This study examines the foundational mathematics curricula of South Africa and Australia. These countries have dinstict educational systems and unique approaches to mathematics education. The study specifically compares the educational goals and priorities, curriculum structure and reflections on socio-politica…
Teachers’ and Deputy Head Teachers’ Perceptions of Head Teachers’ Leadership Practices in Zambian Secondary Schools
School leadership practices may influence teachers’ motivation and professional engagement, which, in turn, may affect overall school performance. This study explores how secondary school teachers and deputy head teachers perceive head teachers’ leadership practices and how these practices are understood to influence teacher motivation and professional engagement. Drawing on a qualitative design, data were collected through semi-structured interv…
Beyond readiness
This study investigated the predictors of simulation integration in physics instruction among in-service secondary school teachers in Nigeria, using an integrated theoretical framework that combined the Technology Acceptance Model and the Will-Skill-Tool model. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 375 physics teachers using a validated instrument, the Physics Teachers Simulation Integratio…
Quantifying the Impact of 8Ps Learning Model on Grade 12 Students’ Performance in Stationary Points Differential Calculus
Differential calculus is a crucial topic in mathematics that helps students hone critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Nonetheless, existing literature reports that grade 12 students frequently encounter challenges learning stationary points, a central concept in differential calculus, owing to the limited effectiveness of traditional teaching methods. To address this concern, this study introduced the 8Ps learning model and examined its …
Perceptions and practices of principals
A theoretical and empirical grounded explanation is constructed on how primary school principals perceive and enact instructional leadership during curriculum reform. This study used a concurrent mixed-methods design to integrate data from 248 survey responses with insights from in-depth interviews and observations of three school principals. Findings indicate that while principals perceive themselves as actively engaged in instructional leadersh…
Examining Primary School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices
This study examines how primary school principals navigate and influence curriculum reform through instructional leadership. Using a qualitative approach, data were gathered from semi-structured interviews and structured observations with three purposefully selected principals, guided by the Principal Instructional Management model. Interview questions focused on three core areas—developing the school mission, managing the instructional program, …
A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework in Science Education
The development and use of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) can enhance students’ understanding of specific content. PCK occurs at three grain sizes: discipline-, topic-, and concept-specific levels. In 2013, Mavhunga and Rollnick proposed the topic-specific PCK (TSPCK) framework to describe how teachers transform topic-specific content in chemistry lessons. This systematic review brings together worldwide research on TSPCK, offering…
Effects of Self-Concept, Discipline, and Institutional Context on Academics' Professional Identities at a South African University
This study investigates how academics’ self-concept, disciplinary background, and institutional context shape their professional identities at a South African university. This qualitative case study research conducted semi-structured interviews with eight university lecturers. The academics were chosen using convenience sampling based on accessibility and willingness to share their experiences. Thematic analysis was applied to identify patterns a…
“The spirit is willing, but the content is weak?” Enacting the mother tongue policy in teaching information and communication technology to preschoolers in Zimbabwe
This mini-ethnographic case study examined the enactment of the mother tongue (MT) medium of instruction policy in teaching information and communication technology (ICT) to preschoolers or early childhood development (ECD) learners in a Zimbabwean school. The study employed an eclectic cognitive sense-making, ethnography of language policy and planning (ELPP), and technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework to look into p…
Protecting jobs and lives
Most studies on teacher resistance to curriculum policy and reform implementation focus on teacher activism and visible acts of resistance. But there is growing interest in teachers’ passive resistance and covert protest in the face of intimidating state power. This paper theorises subtleties of teacher protest in three Southern African states – Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In these countries, teacher strikes, class boycotts and sit-ins ha…
Policy Reform in a Colonial Setting
Colonial education is often criticized for being conservative, static, oppressive, and irrelevant to the needs and interests of the colonized people. This theoretical paper, however, disrupts the established narrative of condemnation by challenging scholars of curriculum reform to take a fresh look at colonial education policy. This study teases George Stark’s policy of technical-vocational education for Africans by employing critical policy hist…
The Nexus of Autonomy and Instructional Leadership in Selected School Clusters in Zimbabwe
This article examines the nexus of autonomy and instructional leadership in school clusters in Zimbabwe. Using the Better Schools Programme of Zimbabwe cluster, teachers and school heads were interviewed on their perspectives on how autonomy influences instructional leadership practices. Results established that clusters provide schools with the freedom to determine the activities deemed necessary to improve student learning. However, although au…
Outsiders inside
While women representation has improved, people still need to change their mindset when it comes to female school leaders in different societies. We argue that female heads are placed and perceived differently in society. Based on the interpretivist paradigm, we used the qualitative approach. A multiple case study design was adopted, and five female school heads were purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews were used and various findings …
Preservice Primary Teachers’ Perceptions of STEM-Based Teaching in Natural Sciences and Technology Classrooms
The influence of selected teacher inputs on students' academic achievement in the junior secondary school certificate mathematics in Namibia
This study explored the link between teachers' inputs and students' academic achievement in the JSC Mathematics for the period 2006 to 2010. One hundred and fifty secondary schools selected from 573 secondary schools in the country constituted the target population. One hundred and sixty-four JSC mathematics teachers from the 150 secondary schools participated in the study, with the final JSC Mathematics results of the students serving as the dep…
When Professional Development Works
Despite the general acceptance of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes as essential to the improvement of education, reviews of professional development research constantly point to the ineffectiveness of most of these programmes. Furthermore, many teachers express dissatisfaction with the professional development opportunities made available to them in schools and insist that the most effective development programmes they have ex…
Managing in the Middle
This article investigates how mid-level managers make sense of and mediate district accountability policy. Arguing that teachers’evolving perceptions and understanding of accountability policies are likely to be mediated by school leaders, the authors explore how school managers enact their policy environments, focusing chiefly on the ways in which they construct district accountability policies. Adopting a cognitive or interpretive frame on impl…
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Managing in the Middle
This article investigates how mid-level managers make sense of and mediate district accountability policy. Arguing that teachers’evolving perceptions and understanding of accountability policies are likely to be mediated by school leaders, the authors explore how school managers enact their policy environments, focusing chiefly on the ways in which they construct district accountability policies. Adopting a cognitive or interpretive frame on impl…
When Professional Development Works
Despite the general acceptance of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes as essential to the improvement of education, reviews of professional development research constantly point to the ineffectiveness of most of these programmes. Furthermore, many teachers express dissatisfaction with the professional development opportunities made available to them in schools and insist that the most effective development programmes they have ex…
The influence of selected teacher inputs on students' academic achievement in the junior secondary school certificate mathematics in Namibia
This study explored the link between teachers' inputs and students' academic achievement in the JSC Mathematics for the period 2006 to 2010. One hundred and fifty secondary schools selected from 573 secondary schools in the country constituted the target population. One hundred and sixty-four JSC mathematics teachers from the 150 secondary schools participated in the study, with the final JSC Mathematics results of the students serving as the dep…
Outsiders inside
While women representation has improved, people still need to change their mindset when it comes to female school leaders in different societies. We argue that female heads are placed and perceived differently in society. Based on the interpretivist paradigm, we used the qualitative approach. A multiple case study design was adopted, and five female school heads were purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews were used and various findings …
Preservice Primary Teachers’ Perceptions of STEM-Based Teaching in Natural Sciences and Technology Classrooms
Policy Reform in a Colonial Setting
Colonial education is often criticized for being conservative, static, oppressive, and irrelevant to the needs and interests of the colonized people. This theoretical paper, however, disrupts the established narrative of condemnation by challenging scholars of curriculum reform to take a fresh look at colonial education policy. This study teases George Stark’s policy of technical-vocational education for Africans by employing critical policy hist…
The Nexus of Autonomy and Instructional Leadership in Selected School Clusters in Zimbabwe
This article examines the nexus of autonomy and instructional leadership in school clusters in Zimbabwe. Using the Better Schools Programme of Zimbabwe cluster, teachers and school heads were interviewed on their perspectives on how autonomy influences instructional leadership practices. Results established that clusters provide schools with the freedom to determine the activities deemed necessary to improve student learning. However, although au…
Effects of Self-Concept, Discipline, and Institutional Context on Academics' Professional Identities at a South African University
This study investigates how academics’ self-concept, disciplinary background, and institutional context shape their professional identities at a South African university. This qualitative case study research conducted semi-structured interviews with eight university lecturers. The academics were chosen using convenience sampling based on accessibility and willingness to share their experiences. Thematic analysis was applied to identify patterns a…
“The spirit is willing, but the content is weak?” Enacting the mother tongue policy in teaching information and communication technology to preschoolers in Zimbabwe
This mini-ethnographic case study examined the enactment of the mother tongue (MT) medium of instruction policy in teaching information and communication technology (ICT) to preschoolers or early childhood development (ECD) learners in a Zimbabwean school. The study employed an eclectic cognitive sense-making, ethnography of language policy and planning (ELPP), and technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework to look into p…
Protecting jobs and lives
Most studies on teacher resistance to curriculum policy and reform implementation focus on teacher activism and visible acts of resistance. But there is growing interest in teachers’ passive resistance and covert protest in the face of intimidating state power. This paper theorises subtleties of teacher protest in three Southern African states – Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In these countries, teacher strikes, class boycotts and sit-ins ha…
Quantifying the Impact of 8Ps Learning Model on Grade 12 Students’ Performance in Stationary Points Differential Calculus
Differential calculus is a crucial topic in mathematics that helps students hone critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Nonetheless, existing literature reports that grade 12 students frequently encounter challenges learning stationary points, a central concept in differential calculus, owing to the limited effectiveness of traditional teaching methods. To address this concern, this study introduced the 8Ps learning model and examined its …
Perceptions and practices of principals
A theoretical and empirical grounded explanation is constructed on how primary school principals perceive and enact instructional leadership during curriculum reform. This study used a concurrent mixed-methods design to integrate data from 248 survey responses with insights from in-depth interviews and observations of three school principals. Findings indicate that while principals perceive themselves as actively engaged in instructional leadersh…
Examining Primary School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices
This study examines how primary school principals navigate and influence curriculum reform through instructional leadership. Using a qualitative approach, data were gathered from semi-structured interviews and structured observations with three purposefully selected principals, guided by the Principal Instructional Management model. Interview questions focused on three core areas—developing the school mission, managing the instructional program, …
A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework in Science Education
The development and use of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) can enhance students’ understanding of specific content. PCK occurs at three grain sizes: discipline-, topic-, and concept-specific levels. In 2013, Mavhunga and Rollnick proposed the topic-specific PCK (TSPCK) framework to describe how teachers transform topic-specific content in chemistry lessons. This systematic review brings together worldwide research on TSPCK, offering…
From Blueprint to Enactment
Grounded in Stephen J. Ball’s policy enactment theory, this qualitative case study explores how three principals in Lesotho conceptualize and develop their school missions during curriculum reform. Through interviews and observations, the findings reveal that principals are not passive implementers but active policy actors, forming a distinct typology: the Entrepreneur who resists and narrates a counter-mission, the Translator who collaboratively…
Teaching in the Crucible
This descriptive, exploratory qualitative study investigates how preservice science and mathematics teachers at two South African universities navigate the alignment between career expectations and training realities. Based on interviews with seven participants, the study identifies distinct discipline-specific challenges. Science teachers faced resource shortages that required improvization without adequate laboratory equipment, while mathematic…
Parental involvement in managing senior secondary pre-class tasks for flipped mathematics instruction
The success of flipped classroom pedagogy in senior secondary mathematics relies not only on the quality of instructional design but also on the support students receive outside the classroom, especially within the home. While flipped learning continues attracting recognition, empirical evidence is limited on how parental involvement, shaped by socioeconomic conditions, influences students' management of pre-class tasks. Drawing on a combined app…
Science and Mathematics Teachers’ Perceptions of the Sustainability of Lesson Study Professional Development
Improving the quality of science and mathematics teaching remains a persistent challenge in resource-constrained education systems, highlighting the need for effective, sustainable professional development approaches. This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey designed to investigate science and mathematics teachers’ retrospective perceptions of the sustainability and professional value of lesson study professional development. Dat…
Examining the Self-Reported Instructional Leadership Practices of Science Heads of Departments in Lesotho Secondary Schools
Instructional leadership is crucial for improving teaching quality and student academic performance, especially in secondary schools where Heads of Department (HoDs) play a vital role. Despite this, there is no empirical evidence on how Science HoDs provide instructional leadership in Lesotho. This study looked at the self-reported instructional leadership techniques of Science HoDs in Lesotho secondary schools and whether they vary based on spec…
Reframing Teacher Instructional Leadership in Curriculum Reform
Despite ongoing curriculum and assessment reforms, secondary school Accounting education in many Global South contexts continues to reflect limited pedagogical transformation and weak curriculum coherence. In Lesotho, policy frameworks such as the Curriculum and Assessment Policy and the Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education advocate learner-centred, competence-based teaching; however, classroom enactment remains uneven, procedurally…
A comparative analysis of Foundation and early primary years mathematics curricula
Introduction: Foundational mathematics knowledge is critical for students’ mathematical development and future academic success. Methods: This study examines the foundational mathematics curricula of South Africa and Australia. These countries have dinstict educational systems and unique approaches to mathematics education. The study specifically compares the educational goals and priorities, curriculum structure and reflections on socio-politica…
Teachers’ and Deputy Head Teachers’ Perceptions of Head Teachers’ Leadership Practices in Zambian Secondary Schools
School leadership practices may influence teachers’ motivation and professional engagement, which, in turn, may affect overall school performance. This study explores how secondary school teachers and deputy head teachers perceive head teachers’ leadership practices and how these practices are understood to influence teacher motivation and professional engagement. Drawing on a qualitative design, data were collected through semi-structured interv…
Beyond readiness
This study investigated the predictors of simulation integration in physics instruction among in-service secondary school teachers in Nigeria, using an integrated theoretical framework that combined the Technology Acceptance Model and the Will-Skill-Tool model. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 375 physics teachers using a validated instrument, the Physics Teachers Simulation Integratio…
Pedagogy (12 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (11 works) · Political science (10 works) · Curriculum (9 works) · Mathematics education (7 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Qualitative research (7 works) · Educational leadership (5 works) · Instructional leadership (5 works)