How the Teaching Development Grant was used (and the problem of common-sense understandings of teaching and learning)

Teachers at primary and secondary education levels are required to hold a professional qualification but, the higher level, all that is content expertise. This may well contribute South Africa's low university throughput retention rates, in response which, since 2004, state has provided ZAR5.5 billion form of Teaching Development Grant (now University Capacity Grant) address poor completion rates. We present an analysis use grant across sector using social realist framework. Every academic student themselves been taught so have developed untheorised assumptions about curriculum pedagogy. Such common-sense teaching learning often serve reinforce status quo, which particularly problematic with racially differentiated success Many initiatives funded through evidenced reliance on rather than theorised accounts. In particular, development took remedial, add-on left mainstream untouched-and staff was generic short term. also found expertise development, could potentially challenge assumptions, unevenly distributed.