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Dr Mirriam Moleko ready to empower teachers after completing prestigious NRF programme

11 July 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

After completing the National Research Foundation’s Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP) fellowship, a lecturer from the University of the Free State (UFS) now wants to train more teachers on issues of access and inclusivity in different mathematics settings. She also wants to establish a centre for access and inclusivity to promote quality teaching that caters to a diverse learner population.

Dr Mirriam Moleko, a lecturer in the UFS’s Department of Mathematics, Natural Sciences, and Technology Education in the Faculty of Education, participated in the BAAP fellowship, an initiative of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the FirstRand Foundation (FRF), from 2021 to 2022. She also got the opportunity to visit universities and schools in the USA for three weeks.

Supporting emerging academics

Dr Moleko says the BAAP is a prestigious NRF programme which supports well-structured research projects with achievable aims, sound methodologies, and demonstrated prudent use of funds. The programme supports emerging academics to ensure that they develop strong research skills, collaborate with prolific scholars in their fields, visit other universities abroad, give public lectures, and attend international conferences to establish an international footprint.

“The programme allows the candidates awarded the grant to focus on research for two years” she says. “I managed to run my teacher community research project successfully during this period. My goal as an academic and a researcher is to produce work that teachers can relate to and be able to apply in their profession. I have always aspired to empower teachers to be knowledgeable and resourceful”.

“Furthermore, my goal is to strive to partake in critical conversations that are taking place within the mathematics education field, and to contribute my skills and knowledge in addressing the existing challenges, thus being part of the solution. I believe the skills that I have gained on how to conduct quality research will assist me in achieving my goals,” she added.

Benefit from funding

During the period of her fellowship she learned about forming partnerships and collaborating with other scholars in her field, which she believes is an important skill to possess as a developing scholar.

Dr Moleko says the programme played a pivotal role in the attainment of numerous significant accomplishments in her professional career thus far. She also benefitted in terms of funding, which helped her undertake autonomous research and advanced training in her area of expertise, as well as facilitated engagement in collaborative research ventures with esteemed professionals and researchers, both domestically and abroad.

“The research leave that I got enabled me to successfully conceptualise, strategise, and implement a research endeavour that yielded a more profound comprehension of the research gap that I had identified within the teacher community, thus culminating in multiple publications in esteemed periodicals.

“The NRF-BAAP funding also enabled me to undertake training, thereby refining my skill set and augmenting my comprehension of intricate principles. The experience proved to be a crucial factor in my vocational growth and bolstered my aptitude for scholarly inquiry. It also afforded me the chance to engage in mentoring endeavours for fledgling researchers.”

Transformation of the Professoriate Mentoring Programme

Dr Moleko, who is part of the UFS Transformation of the Professoriate Mentoring Programme, says this programme is an excellent initiative which is aimed at preparing young academics for future promotions and offering them skills to be competitive. The programme’s goals include building strong academics who will follow in the footsteps of the university’s current leaders.

She says the programme is critical in supporting young academics by connecting them with seasoned mentors and scholars from various fields of study. It is essential for young academics in terms of maximising their learning, expanding their network, and gaining opportunities to help facilitate their growth.

“I see the programme as a catalyst for change necessary for the university to realise the desired results,” Dr Moleko says.

During her visit to the USA she spent two weeks at Boston College and the University of Rhode Island, and also visited the Center for Applied and Specialised Technology, the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities (Sherlock Center), and the TechACCESS Center.

“The purpose of my visit was to establish networks and collaborate with prolific scholars outside South Africa on research engagements. Furthermore, the visit was intended for me to meet with my international mentors in person regarding research engagements.

“During my research visit, Prof Elizabeth Dalton from Rhode Island University and a UDL specialist, and I focused on several academic conversations and demonstrations of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies and approaches, as well as the sharing of many online resources available to support the implementation of UDL in inclusive settings.”

News Archive

Reverend Frank Chikane honours ‘Oom Bey’ at second Beyers Naudé Memorial Lecture for 2012

2012-09-11

Rev. Frank Chikane and Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector: External Relations at the UFS.
Photo: Stephen Collett
10 September 2012

The 9th Beyers Naude Memorial Lecture, a partnership initiative between the University of the Free State (UFS) and Kagiso Trust, was held on the South Campus of the university last week. The theme of the lecture focused on Collaborative partnership for social cohesion: Building of a nation with ethics.

Guest speaker, Reverend Frank Chikane, is a member of the UDF, ANC, Director-General in the Office of the President and a board member of Kagiso Trust.

In his speech, Rev. Chikane focused on the first 45 years in the life of Beyers Naudé, sketching a picture of a man who lived for what he believes in. When this former minister of the South African Dutch Reformed Church and member of the Broederbond, decided to question the morality of the Apartheid government after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, he made some changes in his beliefs and started to play a big role in the struggle against apartheid.

“If one know about ‘Oom Bey’s’ earlier life, you will see how radical his contribution was in turning South Africa from a country on the brink of destruction to a country of peace. ‘Oom Bey’ must be seen as a role model, someone we can aspire to be in South Africa today,” Rev. Chikane said.

“From his legacy one sees elements of someone building a nation with ethics.

“He took sides with the poor against an unjust system. Power breaks cohesion. It makes people not to think,” Rev. Chikane said.

If Afrikaners and black people stood together after the South African War (Anglo-Boer War), we would have talked a different language today. However, they did not. Afrikaners stood together, excluding black people and cohesion between all races was destructed. ‘Oom Bey’ tried to build relationships between people from all races in South Africa in an effort to create peace amongst all people. He was alienated from the Broederbond and defrockedrom the church.

In his speech, Rev. Chikane also said that South Africa did not succeed in collaborative partnerships in terms of the economy. “We need collaborative action to change our economy. This specific failure can destroy all that we have built together.”

“All South Africans can be like ‘Oom Bey” and make a contribution, especially in terms of the economy. To deal with this challenge, we can all contribute. This is important because due to a poor economy, many people are desperate and desperate people can destroy any relationship that we might have built so far.”

At this event, the university and Kagiso Trust also announced the winners of a poetry and essay competition that coincided with this last Beyers Naudé lecture for 2012. The award ceremony looked at the creativity of the learners, how they expressed themselves as well as the novelty of their work. Students as well as learners from schools in the Free State participated in the competition and first, second and third place winners received cash prizes as well as a book from Rev. Frank Chikane for their brilliant work.

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