Department of Educational Studies People
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Departmental Office
Chairperson / Head of Department – Department of Educational Studies
Room 016, South Campus
Education Precinct
Block A
lduplooy@uwc.ac.za | Tel: 021 959 3001
Areas of Specialisation
Sociology of Education, with a focus on Social Reproduction Theory — exploring how schools, through curriculum and pedagogy, reinforce or challenge class‑based inequalities. Her empirical research is rooted in Early Childhood Education, specifically the Foundation Phase (Grades R to 3).
Bibliography
Prof. Du Plooy is an accomplished educator and researcher specialising in Early Childhood Education. She demonstrates proactive, purpose‑driven leadership and is passionate about advancing education systems globally, with a firm belief that collaboration and teamwork are key to transformative outcomes. Her mission centers on fulfilling her highest potential as a lifelong learner and scholar, fostering excellence in foundational teaching. Her work bridges scholarship and practical leadership, contributing significantly to discourse on improving early childhood education. Prof. Du Plooy’s commitment to research and education is recognised internationally, and she actively collaborates with global partners to enrich South African educational practices.
Highlights
• Recipient of multiple scholarships and distinctions, including NRF, EU/DHET, and Erasmus Mundus AESOP+ Postdoctoral Mobility Grant.
• Awarded the Dean’s Merit Award for outstanding achievement and nominated as the Faculty’s Rising Star for Women in Leadership (2020).
• Published extensively on early childhood education, teacher development, and educational change, with work appearing in the South African Journal of Childhood Education and international journals.
Academic Staff
Lecturer – Mathematics Education
Block A, Room 006
nmbusi@uwc.ac.za | Tel: 021 959 4290
Areas of Specialisation
Language and contextual factors in mathematics learning, integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems and inclusive pedagogies to promote learner‑centred environments.
Bibliography
Dr Nokwanda Bondesio is a lecturer in the Department of Educational Studies, with extensive experience teaching Foundation Phase modules in Mathematics Education. She holds a PhD in Mathematics Education from the University of Johannesburg. Her research focuses on how language and contextual factors shape the teaching and learning of mathematics. She is particularly interested in integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems and inclusive pedagogies to promote learner‑centred environments. Dr Bondesio collaborates nationally and internationally to enhance Mathematics Education in diverse communities and to promote intercultural learning.
Highlights
• Maths4stats (South Africa) Competition winner, 2006.
• Family Math Project Champion, University of Mpumalanga, 2019–2022.
Lecturer – Teacher Education
ljohns@uwc.ac.za | Tel: 021 959 3524
Areas of Specialisation
Teacher Education and Professional Development
Bibliography
Lynne is currently a lecturer in the Education Faculty at the University of the Western Cape and part‑time Doctoral student with the Global Institute for Teacher Education and Society (GITES) at CPUT. She was formerly employed by NAPTOSA as Executive Officer responsible for teacher development in the Western Cape Province. She has extensive knowledge and experience of continuing professional development nationally and provincially. Lynne has been actively involved in research projects relating to CPD and Public‑Private Partnership schools, hence the topic of her doctoral thesis being, “Public‑Private Partnerships in Education: Teachers’ experiences of continuing professional development in public collaboration schools”.
Lecturer – Department of Educational Studies
Faculty of Education, University of the Western Cape
ariffel@uwc.ac.za | Tel: 021 959 3358
Areas of Specialisation
Curriculum Studies; Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS); Nature of Science (NOS); Social Sciences Education (History & Geography); Dialogical Argumentation in science classrooms.
Bibliography
Dr Alvin Riffel is a lecturer at the University of the Western Cape actively involved in research, teaching and learning with special interest in curriculum development, community engagement, and professional learning initiatives aimed at strengthening socially responsive and contextually grounded education in South Africa. He is also the Editor‑in‑Chief for the African Association for the Study of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Journal.
Senior Lecturer – Sociology of Education and Education Policy Studies
Block A, Room E‑18
nravjee@uwc.ac.za | Tel: +27 21 959 3337
Areas of Specialisation
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; Philosophy of Education; Sociology of Knowledge
Bibliography
Dr Ravjee is Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Education and Education Policy Studies in the Department of Educational Studies since 2014 and served as Department Chair from 2019 to 2021. She joined UWC in 2002 as Senior Researcher in the Faculty of Education’s Centre for the Study of Higher Education. Prior to this, she held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Stellenbosch. She holds a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington, with a specialisation in Philosophy of Education. Her research focuses on discourses of transformation in South African higher education, the policy contexts of deeply divided societies in transition, the cultural politics of knowledge production, and the themes of recognition and historical awareness in professional education programmes. Dr Ravjee’s current research projects explore the contradictions of epistemic access in South African universities, and the question of knowledge in teacher education programmes. She teaches courses on South African education, philosophy of education, sociology of knowledge, research methodology, and the themes of authority and identity in education.
