Subarea Name: Holistic Wellbeing in Communities

Subarea Leader: Prof JA Rens

Email Address: Julialet.rens@nwu.ac.za

Subarea Members:

About the Subarea

This subarea consists of members that are very young and are still novice researchers. The older members focused on the transitions in education which will also contribute to the holistic wellbeing of stakeholders in education. Although the focus of HWB try to be in line with the COMBER focus, we do have studies as well as projects which have foci a bit further away from the PALAR and PAR approaches.

Research Focus Areas

Transitions in education

Wellbeing in education

Social justice in education

Cultural responsive teaching

Current Research Projects

Complete a table for each project.

Research Outputs

Journal Articles

1. JA Rens & JG Louw. 2024. The implementation of a curriculum for learners with severe disability: a success story? International Journal of Special Education,  2023, 38(2), 90-101 DOI: https://doi.org/10.52291/ijse.2023.38.25
2. Kruger, J, J Louw & J Rens. 2024. Singing with Mr. Tortoise: South African children’s oral narratives and value education. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 24(si2.7). http://doi.org/10.26209/ijea24si2.7
3. Diedricks, V. 2026. Reducing HIV Stigma by Transforming Children's Stereotypical Perceptions Through Arts-Based Methods (2026-05-06) doi: https://doi.org/10.17159/2221-4070/2026/v15n1a1
4. Schoonen, A. & Motaung, N. (2025). Culturally responsive science pedagogy in multilingual early childhood classrooms: A bibliometric review of global trends and insights. In EDULEARN25 Proceedings (pp. 7566–7573).
5. Hanekom, A., van der Merwe, W., & Mong, E. (2026). Nurture: Psycho-educational e-mental health intervention on burnout for Grade R educators. Journal of Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal), (103), 118-141.
6. Mong, E., van der Merwe, W. & Preston, L. (2026). NoCap: Pre-adolescents’ Perspectives on an Ecosystemic Innovative Career Exploration Intervention #NoCap#Truth#NoExaggerations. In Education as an Ecosystem: A Global Dialogue. BCES Conference Books, Vol. 24 (pp. 102-110). Sofia: BCES. (paper was also presented at the 2026 BCES conference in Bulgaria)
7.  Mong, E. (2023). LEGO® to enhance narrative career counselling and promoting mental wellness among adolescents with diverse needs in L Preston & W van der Merwe (eds.), 2023, Six Bricks®: A path to wellness in the educational and health systems, in The South African chapter of the International LEGO® Initiative, vol. 1, AOSIS Books, Cape Town, pp. 63–92. https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2023.BK427.04
8. Mong, E. (2023). The role of teachers in career choice. In Louw, D.A. (et al.) (eds.) The Child. A Psycho-Educational Approach for Teachers in South Africa. Stellenbosch. Psychology Publications. 
9. Nxumalo, N., & Wood, L. (2021). Actively Engaging Youth to Disrupt Toxic Masculinity Through Participatory Visual Methods in HIV Education. Journal of Educational Studies, 2021(si1), 83-105. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/ejc-jeds_v2021_nsi1_a6 
10. Nxumalo, N., & Wood, L. (2025). A critical action learning approach to developing the capabilities of NEET youth in South Africa. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 22(3), 319-333. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767333.2025.2563844 

Books/Book Chapters

1. Seleti, J., Schoonen, A., Atmore, E. & Naudé, M. (Eds.). The Best Start in Life: Understanding Early Childhood Development from Birth to Four Years.
   Conference Presentations

International conferences:

National conferences:

Postgraduate Research

Studies completed:

1. L Labuschagne. M Ed. Developing number sense for Grade 1 learners with severe intellectual disabilities: Exploring teachers' pedagogical content knowledge. (J Rens & H Louw)
2. A Luies. M Ed. A collaborative approach between teachers and parents to support adolescent learners living with ADHD during the transition from primary to secondary school (M Koen & J Rens)
3. NC Siwisa. M Ed. The antecedents of resilience among high school learners living with dyslexia. (M Malindi & J Rens)
4. Matthews Makunye. A model of pre-service educators' metacognitive awareness, teaching perspectives and sense of efficacy. PhD. (D Jagals & J Rens)
5. N Ellemdin. M Ed. Improving teacher capacity for supporting learners with barriers in the Intermediate Phase: A PALAR approach. (J Rens & JG Louw)
6. BS Ndlangamandla – Parent-teacher collaboration to promote play-based pedagogy in early childhood centres. M Ed. (S Esterhuizen & JG Louw)

Current students:

1. J le Roux. Teacher’s perception of kinesthetic teaching for learners with special educational needs: a PALAR design (H Louw & J Rens) – M Ed
2. K Kirstein. Exploring cultural competence in mitigating diversity-related fatigue among beginner-teachers (J Rens & C Twine) – M Ed
3. R Kennedy. Strategies to promote cooperative parent-teacher collaboration to support dyslexic learners: a PALAR approach. (J Rens & H Louw) – M Ed
4. T Snyman. Strategies to improve cultural responsive teaching in Chinese English Second Language classrooms. J Rens & N Nxumalo. (M Ed)
5. S Ratlhahane. Educators’ lived experiences of supporting the transition of learners with learning barriers from early childhood learning to formal schooling in Gauteng. C Twine & J Rens. (M Ed) 
6. A Welman. Die ondersteuning van Grondslagfase-onderwysers om  leerders op die outismespektrum te akkommodeer: ‘n Gesamentlike benadering. H Louw. (MEd)
7. C de Beer. Strategieë vir Grondslagfase-onderwysers om leerders met leerhindernisse in openbare skole te ondersteun. H Louw. (MEd)
8. CGL Matsheka. A Participatory Approach to Assist Teachers in Observing and Supporting Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders. H Louw (MEd)
9. Z Mgoghoza. Fostering effective guidelines for the transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4 Life Skills education: A collaborative approach. H Louw (M Ed)
10. N Nthameleni. Enhancing parent-teacher collaboration in supporting learners from neglected family structures. V Diedricks. (M Ed)
11. N Zwezwe. Examining the value of a university degree in a rising graduate unemployment era: TVET and university higher youth perspectives in Durban. N Motaung. (M Ed)
12. EM Nthoroane. Parents-teachers collaboration in supporting learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder when transitioning into adulthood. H Louw (PhD)
13. T Myburgh. Spelgebaseerde onferrig in Lewensvaardighede: Riglyne vir die bevordering van perseptuele ontwikkeling tydens die oorgang van Graad R na Graad 1 (J Rens & J Keating) – PhD
14. T Botha. Developing a tool kit to improve the psychosocial well-being of the LGBTQIA+ teachers’ community to deal with homophobic bullying. (J Rens & C Twine) – PhD
15. A Hanekom (co with Dr W van der Merwe)
16. L Nair (co with Prof L Preston)
17. N Herbst (co with Dr A Janse van Vuuren)
18. Letsholo  Keabetswe Rebeccah (30339812) - Strengthening teachers’ support competencies  in teaching intermediate phase learners with language barriers in mainstream schools. N Nxumalo ( M Ed)
19. Annica Holzhausen (22172157) - Using art-based methods to enhance teachers’ capacity to provide emotional support to FP learners. N Nxumalo. ( M Ed)

20. TB Sekhoela  (29386357) - Resilience and Coping Strategies of Foundation Phase Teachers in Inclusive Classrooms. N Nxumalo. (M Ed)

     

Collaborations and Partnerships

1. Collaboration with colleagues from Sweden, Norway, UWC

Title: Creating pathways to social justice and equity through Life Orientation in South Africa and Health and Physical Education in Sweden: A comparative case study.

Katarina Schenker a,c, Chanelle Kempb, Susanne Linnérc, Nellytia Motaungb and Julialet Rensb
a Department of Teacher Education and Outdoor Studies, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway;
b Faculty of Education, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa;
c Department of Sport Science, Linnaeus University, Sweden

2. Strengthening community voices: a participatory approach to addressing social justice issues in South African schools: Vernique Diedricks and lead by Prof Newlin Marongwe
3. National Longitudinal Teacher Pedagogy Programme: Vernique Diedricks and lead by Prof Thabo Makhalemele. Thutupapadi Hola mmoho project  ; NTLPP National Longitudinal Teacher Pedagogy Programme (NLTPP) Project; Strengthening community voices in addressing social justice issues within South African schools project 
4. The Science for the Future Project is a collaborative initiative involving the University of the Free State and North-West University. N Motaung as member. 

The project focuses on strengthening science education through collaboration, research, teacher development and innovative approaches to science teaching and learning.

5. N Motaung: Collaboration with Dr Andri Schoonen (Wits) on culturally responsive science pedagogy and early childhood science education.

    

Community Engagement Activities

1. V Diedricks. Service- learning task team 
2. N Motuang:Exam Motivation Drive

The main community engagement activity is an Exam Motivation Drive, which is conducted twice every year.

The initiative is intended to motivate, encourage and support students during examination periods. It creates an opportunity to engage students positively, promote perseverance and provide emotional and academic encouragement before and during examinations.

The activity contributes to student well-being and strengthens the relationship between university staff and students by demonstrating care and support during academically demanding periods.

3. E Mong. Potchefstroom Hospital Mothers Club & Stilfontein Primary School
4. N Nxumalo: Ikamva Youth organisation (Ikageng branch) – with effects from April 2026 : The centre focuses on providing after school tutoring adolescents, provide career information and assist them with tertiary applications 

Funding and Grants

1. N Nxumalo: NWU capacity building funding – R60 000