Research on the forefront

The Faculty of Education strives to achieve excellence in research that is aligned to national needs and priorities. We aspire to make a substantial contribution to scientific knowledge production and the delivering of research results that have direct application to local problems. In line with the vision of the University of Pretoria we actively promote a research culture and continuously focus on building research capacity, providing sufficient resources for research and applying stringent evaluation measures, as well as the highest ethical standards to its research outputs.

Research is one of the central foci of the Faculty and we aim to build clusters of research excellence within the faculty. The five research focus areas for the faculty are:

• Resilience research

• Food, nutrition and wellbeing 

• Assessment and quality assurance

• Early Childhood Education

• HIV/AIDS in education,

• Language and Literacies,

• Power, reform and change,

• Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

Central to the research strategy of the Faculty of Education is its attempt to build a strong and high-quality postgraduate student community. In addition to a highly selective admissions process, the Faculty offers an intensive support and development programme for masters and doctoral students. This intensive support of postgraduate students has led to a substantial increase in the number of graduates in our Faculty. The best of student research and achievement is showcased in the Annual Postgraduate Research Indaba, a highly regarded event inside and outside of the University of Pretoria.

The Faculty of Education has firmly established itself as one of the premier facilities for education research, capacity development, and productivity in Southern Africa. The consistent growth in the volume and quality of research outputs, and the international recognition of the Faculty and its members through various awards and citations bear testimony to a vibrant and intelligent research community.