Legal Remedies for Teachers as Victims of Workplace Bullying in South Africa

Workplace bullying is a serious issue among teachers in South Africa, with detrimental effects on their physical and mental health, job satisfaction, and overall wellbeing. This article examines the legal remedies available to teachers who are victims of workplace bullying. These remedies include delictual liability, vicarious liability, constitutional claims, dispute resolution mechanisms, constructive dismissal, criminal law, and civil law, each of which provides a different avenue for teachers to seek legal redress. These approaches include compensation for damages, protection of their constitutional rights, and criminal charges against the person(s) accused of bullying. However, barriers such as lack of legal literacy, fear of retaliation, and cost and time constraints, may prevent teachers from accessing legal support. To address these barriers, teachers need adequate legal support and resources. This process includes legal aid services and training programmes on constitutional rights and procedures. This study utilizes a document analysis approach to examine relevant laws, policies, and case law related to workplace bullying. Future research could explore the effectiveness of different legal remedies in addressing workplace bullying among teachers. It could also explore both the facilitators of legal support and the barriers to accessing such assistance. Policy development could focus on strengthening legislative protection for teachers and victims of workplace bullying. This practice could include the development of specific legislation or regulations that address workplace bullying and provide clear guidelines for instigating legal action. This study found that the legal resources available to teachers who are victims of workplace bullying in South Africa offer different avenues for seeking legitimate redress. As indicated above, these processes include compensation for damages, protection of constitutional rights, and criminal charges against the perpetrator(s) of intimidation. However, obstacles preventing teachers from accessing legal support include a lack of legal literacy, fear of retaliation, and cost and time constraints. Overall, this article contributes to a better understanding of the legal framework surrounding workplace bullying in South Africa. It provides insights into the ways in which legal remedies can be utilized to protect teachers' rights and prevent workplace bullying

South African Legal Framework to Prepare Pre-Service Teacher Education Programmes: A Freirean Approach

The education sector in South Africa is governed by a complex legal framework that outlines guidelines, policies and standards for pre-service teacher education programmes. In order to prepare pre-service teachers for the classroom, universities must navigate this legal framework and ensure that their programmes comply with the requirements set forth by various regulatory bodies. However, the authors argue that these requirements are not enough to prepare student teachers for the classroom. Rather, by using Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy as a theoretical lens, they argue that student teachers should be conscientized to become agents of change in the classroom and promote social justice, while adhering to legal guidelines in their teacher training. Furthermore, education spaces need to consider the context of schools and higher education institutions, student society, teaching and scientific endeavours, educational administration, pedagogical imageology and intercultural education to address these standardisation challenges. Through a desktop analysis, this article provides an overview of the legal framework for integrating learning into pre-service teacher education programmes in South Africa. The study asks: what are the legal requirements and guidelines that universities must follow to prepare pre-service teachers for the classroom in South Africa? To answer this question, the authors conducted a literature review of relevant legal frameworks and guidelines, including legal documentations, case law, academic literature and publications from professional organisations. The research methodology primarily consisted of a search for literature using specific search terms and databases. The article provides recommendations for how universities can effectively navigate the legal framework in training pre-service teachers, drawing on key findings from the literature review. These include the need for universities to ensure that their teacher education programmes are socially just

Techno-Rationalism and Higher Educational Law: Examining Legal Frameworks in Southern African Universities from a Freirean Critical Pedagogy Perspective

This conceptual article explores the profound impact of techno-rationalism on educational law in Southern African universities. It also examines the influence of techno-rationalism on equity, social justice and academic freedom within higher education in the digital era. The article critically analyses the reshaping of educational law in Southern Africa by considering technological advancements, economic forces, affective factors and socio-cultural dynamics. It aims to investigate whether the implementation of techno-rationalist discourses hinders social justice aspirations in universities. Additionally, the article explores how pervasive neoliberalism and market-driven logic are at universities, questioning whether these practices overshadow the institution’s core objectives and commitment to social justice. The article envisions possibilities for reconceptualising the university in the era of techno-rationalism through the critical pedagogy theory. This theory is relevant to this work because it promotes an emancipatory theoretical framework that challenges learning environments, especially higher education institutions, where people might be politically, socially and economically disempowered. It also calls for a holistic approach to knowledge, curriculum and pedagogy that recognises the university’s embeddedness in a broader ecological and socio-cultural context. Through this exploration, the article contributes to the scholarly discourse on the decolonisation of universities and seeks to inspire new lines of enquiry addressing inequality and the pursuit of social justice in Southern African higher education institutions