Understanding professional development: Insights from Foundation Phase Teachers in Gauteng West, South Africa

Understanding professional development: Insights from Foundation Phase Teachers in Gauteng West, South Africa

Mathabiso Eunice Majahe & Matshidiso Joyce Taole

Issue: Vol. 7 No.6 2026 Article 9 pp. 1537 – 1551
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026769 Published online 14th July 2026

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ABSTRACT

This qualitative study examined Foundation Phase teachers’ understanding of professional development (PD) activities in District Circuit 5, Cluster 2, Gauteng West, South Africa. Anchored in an interpretivist paradigm and Adult Learning Theory, the research employed an exploratory design using semi-structured interviews with purposively selected teachers and Departmental Heads. The elicited findings were thematically analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework. The findings indicate that teachers view PD as essential for enhancing teaching competencies, updating pedagogical knowledge, and addressing diverse learner needs. However, participants reported that existing PD initiatives are often generic, misaligned with the realities of the Foundation Phase, and lacking practical applicability. The key challenge was a gap between PD content and classroom demands. The study highlights the need for context-sensitive, teacher-driven, and practice-embedded PD models. The recommendations include sustained, phase-specific interventions, such as mentoring, professional learning communities, and reflective practices, to improve instructional relevance, teaching quality, and learner outcomes. This research emphasises the importance of aligning PD with teachers’ classroom realities. The study contributes to existing knowledge by providing context-specific insights into how Foundation Phase teachers interpret and experience professional development, highlighting gaps between policy intentions and classroom realities, and offering evidence to inform the design of more responsive and practice-grounded PD models.

Keywords: Professional Development, Foundation Phase, Teacher Understanding, Adult Learning Theory, South Africa

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Mathabiso is a postgraduate researcher specialising in teacher development, early childhood education, and instructional improvement within South African schooling contexts. Her research interests include professional development models, curriculum implementation, literacy and numeracy acquisition in the Foundation Phase, and the role of school leadership in supporting continuous teacher learning. She contributed to research projects focusing on classroom practice, teacher training, and educational policy implementation and is committed to advancing equity and quality in basic education. Mathabiso is affiliated with the University of South Africa (UNISA) and engages in scholarly communities concerned with qualitative research methods, teacher professional growth, and foundational learning. Her work reflects a sustained interest in improving the professional competencies of Foundation Phase teachers through contextually grounded and evidence-based development strategies.

Professor Matshidiso Joyce Taole is a Full Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA). She has extensive experience in teaching and learning in higher education, with many years of service as an academic involved in programme design, alignment, development, and evaluation. Her scholarly work is underpinned by a commitment to strengthening practical, context-responsive teaching and learning as a means of advancing sustainable educational transformation. Her academic vision and mission focus on fostering students’ self-efficacy and nurturing them to become lifelong, critical, and innovative thinkers. She is actively involved in the supervision of postgraduate students within the College of Education. Professor Taole publishes and presents widely on issues of inclusivity, rural education, curriculum, teaching and learning, and professional development. She has presented research at both national and international conferences and holds an NRF C rating.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Majahe, Mathabiso Eunice, and Matshidiso Joyce Taole. “Understanding professional development: Insights from Foundation Phase Teachers in Gauteng West, South Africa,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.6 (2026): 1537 –1551. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026769