Primary teachers’ experiences in providing quality education: A case study of a rural full-service school in the Eastern Cape Province

Ntando Elliot Mpahla ORCID iD 

Issue: Vol. 7 No.1  2026 Article 17 pp. 235 – 244
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267117| Published online 27th February 2026
© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Full-service schools have been structured to cater for all public-school learners, including learners with disabilities. However, it remains questionable if full-service teachers are well-equipped to provide quality education in an inclusive, diverse classroom. This study explored the challenges experienced by rural primary teachers in providing quality education in a rural Full-service school in the Eastern Cape Province. The study was guided by a qualitative research methodology. The sample size for this study was composed of ten teachers who were selected through purposive sampling. Participants were therefore interviewed through semi-structured interviews and document analysis to probe their experiences in teaching both mainstream and learners with disabilities. The findings indicated that full-service teachers have not been professionally developed to teach in a full-service school. From the findings of this study, the researchers find it inconvenient for mainstream teachers to teach in a full-service school without any professional development for such a cause. For this reason, the study recommends that there should be frameworks for ongoing teacher training programmes that would enable teachers to be on par with the task at hand. The study concluded that the rural full-service schools should be prioritised in providing all the necessary resources that would enhance quality teaching and positive outcomes. The study contributes significantly to scholarship in educational research, teacher training, and rural education. The insights derived from this study enhance the understanding of the challenges faced by teachers in specific contexts and inform broader discussions about educational practices and policies in developing regions.

Keywords: Quality Education, Full-Service School, Rural, Professional Development

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Dr Ntando Elliot Mpahla is a PhD holder and Senior lecturer in the Department of Adult & Education Foundations at the Faculty of Education at Walter Sisulu University. He has 10 years of working experience at a tertiary institution. He has supervised Honours, Masters and PhD students. He lectures both undergraduate and postgraduate students who aspire to be educators in South Africa. With the undergraduate students, he has the task of introducing research to them because when they are already employed as educators in schools, they will come across sections dealing with research in their syllabus. With the postgraduate students, supervision is the order of the day. Mpahla has already graduated 18 B Ed Honours students in the faculty of Education. He also graduated two Master of Education students. He is currently supervising four (04) Master’s students and one (01) PhD student. Generally, he describes himself as a novice researcher who is very eager to become an experienced researcher. To fulfil such ambitions, he has undergone numerous research seminars and research writing retreats. Up to now, he has published 15 papers through conference proceedings and 05 journal articles. He is a Senior lecturer and Deputy Head of Department who monitors the functioning of his department. His research interest is in the disciplines of professional teacher development and education policy imperatives.

Mpahla, Ntando Elliot. “Primary teachers’ experiences in providing quality education: A case study of a rural full-service school in the Eastern Cape Province.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.1 (2026): 235 – 244. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267117

© 2026 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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