Balancing Acts: The Untold Struggles of Motherhood in Doctoral Research at 2iE

Traore Maïmouna unveils the undocumented struggles of women navigating the demands of childbirth and parenting while pursuing their doctoral studies. From the absence of maternity leave policies to the strategies employed by these resilient women, the narrative sheds light on the humanization of doctoral supervision and calls for institutional changes to support the holistic well-being of doctoral candidates. Editorial note: I removed reference to female PhD students as ‘girls’ since it is not possible for a PhD student to be younger than 18, the age of adulthood in South Africa.

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Addressing Challenges in South African Mathematics Education

Prof. Jonathan Jansens identifies key challenges in South African mathematics education, including teaching without meaning, fear of failure, curriculum constraints, teacher content knowledge, pedagogical shortcomings, poor numeracy foundations, and lack of educator enthusiasm. He urges mathematicians to engage in early-grade teaching to enhance mathematical competence and address these issues.

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