The good news for South African Journal of Childhood Education (SAJCE) is that the journal has been awarded an impact factor of 0.9 on the Web of Science. This recognition is because of the manuscripts that are submitted and reviewed or refined by the pool of reviewers and the publisher, where the work of Ms. Tracy McOwen, our submissions manager at AOSIS, stands out.
Volume 13 comprises a greater variety than usual, with several published articles highlighting the ‘bigger picture’ of childhood education. Researchers in the field of learning support, children’s behaviour at school, the ongoing challenges of learning to read and to understand mathematical concepts continue to submit manuscripts. There has been a rise in research about learners with special educational needs, with several articles providing evidence of the struggles of inclusive classrooms.
Teacher education and professional development have remained a focus in this issue, which makes us think that a special collection (or special issue) about teachers should be planned for Volume 14. I would suggest in-depth studies that not only capture teaching and teachers qualitatively but that middle-scale research could be reported about teachers’ understanding of learning. For that, studies based on teachers’ knowledge of cognitive science would be welcome.
One such area, the ‘science of reading’, has seen some resistance as it became used widely. The words of wisdom from a leading reading education specialist, Prof. Catherine Snow, are that this term simply means evidence-based knowledge. I would like to add that a basic knowledge of the neuroscience of reading can be helpful for interpreting evidence.
Soon, the Journal will hopefully welcome the new editor. In the meantime, I thank the Section Editors, Naseema Shaik, Veronica Dwarika, Hanrie Bezuidenhout and Fikile Simelane for assisting the editor. I thank the authors, reviewers and readers for your support of the journal.
Kind regards
Elizabeth Henning (Editor)
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