In Conversation with African Graduate Scholars

Juliet Perumal graduated with a PhD in Education from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She holds a Bachelor of Paedagogics (Arts) from the University of Durban-Westville, Honours in Education from the University of South Africa, and a Master’s in Education (specialising in Language and Literature) from the University of Cape Town. She is currently Professor in the Department of Education Studies at the University of Johannesburg and Faculty Vice Dean: Research and Internationalization. Perumal has taught at school, adult education and various universities throughout South Africa. She has published in the field of language and gender; critical, radical and feminist pedagogies; transformative curriculum, democracy, values and human rights; educational leadership; and qualitative research methodologies. She is a South African National Research Foundation Rated Researcher. She has been the recipient of various national and international scholarships and research awards. . She is the recipient of the 2015: Joyce Cain Award Winner (Comparative and International Education) for outstanding research on peoples of African descent.

Paper Title: Female educational leadership: the politics of working and leading in disadvantaged communities

Janine Joan Le Roux has a Bachelor of Education Degree; Bachelor of Education Honours Degree; National Certificate in Public Administration and is currently studying towards a Master’s in Education. She is a Senior Education Specialist with the Department of Education in Johannesburg South Africa. Her job entails implementing the National Guidelines for School Library and Information Services; providing training and development to School Library Coordinators; support teachers to develop learners’ reading skills and promote reading; guiding and monitoring schools on the utilisation of the school library budgets; and project management of underperforming schools. Her research interests include: female educational leadership; women leading education in Africa; critical feminism.

Paper Title: Exploring New Methods of Teaching by Considering Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Pedagogical Orientations

Aviwe Sondlo is an assistant lecturer in the Department of Science and Technology Education within the Faculty of Education at University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is currently lectures in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. At the same time, he is a PhD candidate. He moved to University of Johannesburg from the University of Witwatersrand where he obtained his Bachelor of Education Degree, BSc Honours and MSc. His research interest includes science communication, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), in-service and pre-service teacher’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in particular Pedagogical Orientations. PCK is part of his PhD research study.

Paper Title: Educators’ experiences of principalship in post-apartheid South Africa

Venie Perumalsamy is a deputy principal at Dalpark Secondary School, where she has devoted herself to working with high school learners for the last nineteen years. She has extensive experience within the education system, and is passionate about the mentorship and empowerment of the learners and educators she works with. She holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Management which she attained at the University of Johannesburg in 2016. Her current research interests include social justice issues within the field of education.

Paper Title: Strategies and practices for fostering tolerance and tolerance education in schools: case of Hizmet School principals in South Africa

Ayhan Cetin is the Executive Director and Trustee of Turquoise Harmony Institute (THI), a South African based NGO which tries to promote peace, harmony and tolerance through different events and different platforms by bringing people together from different walks of life. He received his B.Ed. Honours degree from Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey and his M.Ed. from University of Johannesburg. Before he became the Executive Director of THI, he served as a teacher and a principal at many schools. He plays an active role in interfaith circles to promote inter-religions tolerance. His research interests are educational leadership and management, value education, peace education, human rights education.

Paper Title: The role of peer educators in HIV prevention at a higher education institution in Johannesburg

Trishana Soni is a lecturer at the University of Johannesburg in the Department of Educational Psychology. She has worked in government, non-profit organisations and in the private sector as an independent consultant provinces in South Africa, as well as in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland. She conducted volunteer work in Australia. She is currently registered for a Doctorate in Educational Psychology. Her research interests include Inclusive education with a focus on HIV/AIDS; Resilience; Mentoring.

Bill Cisco is an American R & B music producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, It was during the Motown era that he assumed fulltime rolls with The Drifters. He wrote and produced songs for the group with co-writers Gene McFadden and John Whitehead. Bill also worked side by side with the legendry Curtis Mayfield at Curtom Records. During this time he maintained his role as CEO of ‘The Drifters’. He is a staunch advocate for women’s’ empowerment and partners with trusts and non-profit organizations to perform benefit concerts in the U.S and internationally.