Early Childhood Education at UP

𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙧 𝙉𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙖 𝙎𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙚𝙡: 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙀𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝, 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩

Dr Nadia Swanepoel is a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Early Childhood Education at the University of Pretoria, whose work is dedicated to transforming early mathematics education into a meaningful, accessible, and engaging experience for both teachers and young learners. As an emerging scholar with a strong commitment to educational excellence, she seeks to demystify mathematics by empowering pre-service and in-service teachers with the knowledge, confidence, and practical strategies needed to create positive learning experiences in diverse educational settings.

Her research interests span early mathematics education, teacher professional development, mathematical problem solving, mathematics vocabulary, and responsive pedagogy. Through qualitative and participatory research approaches, Dr Swanepoel investigates innovative ways to strengthen teachers' beliefs, attitudes, and instructional practices, particularly within the Foundation Phase. Her work is driven by the understanding that teacher confidence and competence are essential in developing young learners' mathematical thinking and fostering lifelong learning.

Dr Swanepoel's scholarship integrates research, teaching, postgraduate supervision, and community engagement, reflecting her commitment to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Her research has made a significant contribution to understanding how teachers can be supported in overcoming barriers to mathematics teaching and learning, particularly through professional development initiatives that strengthen classroom practice and learner outcomes.

A passionate community-engaged academic, Dr Swanepoel works closely with schools, teachers, and educational communities through collaborative partnerships, professional development programmes, and participatory action research initiatives. Her work promotes contextually relevant and responsive approaches to mathematics education that acknowledge the realities of South African classrooms while advancing equitable, sustainable, and meaningful learning opportunities for children. Through these engagements, she continues to bridge the gap between research and practice, ensuring that her scholarship has a tangible impact on teachers, learners, and the communities they serve.

Among her notable scholarly contributions are publications focusing on mathematics word-problem solving, teacher development, mathematics vocabulary, and educational resilience. Her recent work includes Scaffolding Word Problem-Solving Instruction: Leveraging Critical Thinking and Mathematics Vocabulary (2026), The Development of the Word Sum-Wheel to Enhance Grade 3 Teachers' Mathematics Word Problem-Solving Instruction (2024), and Collaborative Conversations with Teachers About Hope: During and After COVID-19 (2024). These contributions reflect her ongoing dedication to strengthening mathematics education through innovative, research-informed practices that support both teachers and learners.

As we celebrate Women's Month, Dr Nadia Swanepoel stands out as an inspiring emerging woman academic whose work embodies the values of innovation, collaboration, social impact, and educational transformation. Through her research, mentorship, and community engagement, she is helping to shape the future of early childhood education while empowering teachers and young learners to thrive in an increasingly complex world.

We are extremely proud of Dr West from the Department of Early Childhood Education who is the newly elected chair of SAALT

Meet our newly elected executive committee that will serve SAALT over the next two years. 👏👏👏 May SAALT flourish and all languages have a voice during your leadership. We wish you all the best.

We are proud of Dr Kayla Willemse from the Department of Early Childhood Education who has been appointed as the secretary of the South African Research Association For Early Childhood Education -

✨ Meet the SARAECE Executive Committee! ✨

We are delighted to introduce the new SARAECE Executive Committee, who will lead the association into an exciting new chapter.

💙 President: Prof. Donna Hannaway
💙 Vice-President: Dr Hannelie du Preez
💙 Secretary: Dr Kayla Willemse
💙 Treasurer: Inge Iturralde

Together, they bring a wealth of experience in early childhood education, research, leadership, innovation and collaboration.

As the new Executive Committee, they are committed to:
🌱 Growing our SARAECE community
🤝 Strengthening partnerships
📚 Promoting high-quality early childhood research
🌍 Creating opportunities for collaboration and professional learning
💡 Supporting researchers, practitioners and students across South Africa and beyond

We look forward to an exciting journey together as we continue to advance early childhood education through research, innovation and collaboration.

Please join us in congratulating our new Executive Committee! 🎉

Technology is becoming an increasingly important part of children’s daily lives, raising important questions about how it can be introduced in education in ways that are purposeful, responsible and developmentally appropriate.

Dr Kayla Willemse recently had the privilege of joining Chreslie Nunes from NBC Digital News to discuss the role of coding and robotics in early childhood education.

The conversation explored how coding and robotics can move beyond screens and complex technologies to become playful, creative and human-centred learning experiences. When used thoughtfully, these approaches can support young children’s problem-solving, creativity, collaboration and computational thinking. 🧩💡

The discussion also highlighted the importance of ensuring that technology enhances, rather than replaces, play, interaction and meaningful learning in the early years.

Thank you to NBC Digital News for the opportunity to contribute to this important conversation about the future of early childhood education. 🎙️📚

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DFZrfYM9W/

RCA INTERVIEW | TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION - nbc Technology is becoming an increasingly important part of children's...

Dr Joyce West and Dr Kayla Willemse were invited to deliver keynote presentations in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where they engaged with an international academic audience on the integration and implementation of artificial intelligence in educator preparation.

Their presentations considered how AI is reshaping higher education and the preparation of future educators. Rather than viewing AI merely as a new digital tool, they emphasised the importance of developing the critical, ethical and pedagogical judgement required to use it meaningfully and responsibly. 🎓💡

The engagement in Samarkand created a valuable space for exchanging perspectives on innovation, digital transformation and the responsible use of emerging technologies across different educational contexts. ✨📚

Dr Joyce West and Dr Kayla Willemse were recently invited to deliver keynote addresses at Kazan Federal University, where they shared insights on the integration and implementation of artificial intelligence in teacher education.

Their presentations explored the growing role of AI in preparing future educators, with particular attention to how institutions can move beyond simply adopting new technologies towards thoughtful, ethical and pedagogically meaningful implementation.

The discussion highlighted the importance of equipping pre-service educators with the knowledge, critical awareness and practical skills needed to use AI responsibly in teaching and learning. It also emphasised the need for teacher education programmes to remain contextually responsive, inclusive and grounded in sound educational principles. 🌍📚

The invitation provided a valuable opportunity to contribute to international dialogue on the future of teacher education and to exchange ideas with colleagues at Kazan Federal University.

🌏📚 Global scholarship, meaningful dialogue and new possibilities for educational research

Dr Joyce West and Dr Kayla Willemse recently had the privilege of attending the IAFOR Tokyo 2026 Conference Series, an intellectually stimulating and inspiring gathering of scholars, educators and researchers from across the world.

📖 Dr West presented a paper co-authored with Dr Karen Roux, focusing on reading achievement, PIRLS results and the significance of background knowledge, translation equivalence and readability as predictors of reading assessment outcomes.

Within large-scale international assessments such as PIRLS, these factors are essential for understanding how learner performance is interpreted and compared across different languages and educational contexts. The presentation also highlighted the deeper linguistic, cultural and educational factors that shape reading achievement.

🤖 Dr Willemse presented and discussed the NELO framework which supports the implementation of coding and robotics in early childhood education, particularly in under-resourced contexts.

An important part of the discussion explored how the framework could be translated and adapted across different subjects, disciplines and educational settings. This opens exciting possibilities for broader innovation, inclusion and contextually responsive educational practice. 🌱

The conference provided a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, strengthen international academic connections and contribute to global conversations about equitable and meaningful education.

🌍✨ Advancing socially just and context-responsive AI in education

Dr Kayla Willemse participated as a panellist at the UNESCO UNITWIN Chair on AIED Unplugged Conference in Brazil, where she contributed to the important discussion on “Social Justice, Human Rights, and AI in Education.”

During the session, Dr Willemse emphasised that the integration of artificial intelligence in education should not be driven by technological adoption alone. Instead, it must be guided by principles of equity, human rights and contextual responsiveness. 🤝

She highlighted the need to ask critical questions about whose knowledge is represented in AI systems, how technologies respond to the realities of vulnerable communities, and how unplugged educational approaches can help reduce, rather than reproduce, structural inequalities across the Global South.

The conference, led by the Federal University of Alagoas and the University of São Paulo, brought together researchers and institutions from Brazil and diverse international contexts to explore responsible technology use, AI governance and contextually appropriate implementation pathways. 💡📚

🌱 The future of AI in education must be inclusive, ethical and shaped by the communities it is intended to serve.

Beyond the Algorithm: Dr. Kayla Willemse’s Insights for Ethical, Equitable AI in Africa Beyond the Algorithm: Dr. Kayla Willemse’s Insights for Ethical, Equitable AI in Africa Posted on May 05, 2026 Dr. Kayla Willemse (An AfriDSAI emerging fellow). participated as a panellist at the UNESCO UNITWIN Chair on AIED Unplugged Conference in Brazil, contributing critical insights to the dis...

Pre-conference Workshops... Don't miss out. Register for the annual SAALT Conference (13/14-16 July 2026) TODAY! Event Behella inroll https://share.google/lv02CGru8rDpDvccP