A South African journal about childhood education and care

Founding editor Professor Elizabeth Henning, SARCHI Chair, looks back

Although there has always been a great need for effective ECD centres, pre-schools and for competent teachers of primary schools, South African researchers in these areas did not have a specialised journal for the dissemination of their research findings until 2011.

In that year the South African Journal of Childhood Education (https://sajce. co.za) was launched in the Centre for Education Practice Research (CEPR) on the Soweto campus of the University of Johannesburg (UJ).

In 2011, with the support of the EU, the department of higher education and training launched the Strengthening Foundation Phase Teacher Education Programme (SFFTEP). This initiative included a focus on advancing research in teacher education and childhood learning. Since then numerous articles have been published in UJ’S SAJCE journal.

An additional grant was awarded through the Teacher Education for Early Childhood Care and Education Project (TEECCEP), for sponsorship of page fees in the journal, between 2017 and 2020. This project has afforded a chance to many new scholars and teacher educators to advance their research. I think what SAJCE has given us is an opportunity for new scholars to inquire and to receive reviewer feedback from experts who know what our vision is — the advancement of knowledge in small studies and large surveys.

The research of new scholars and their mentors is available on our open-access journal website. Highlights from the archives show the names of leading scholars in language and literacy, mathematics, science and education, and ECD researchers from different parts of the world. The website also shows the listing of the journal on several prominent accreditation lists.

Comment by the Dean: Professor Sarah Gravett

The journal has served the scientific community of childhood education well since its first issue in 2011. Not only have numerous researchers published in its regular issues and special collections, but many new researchers have participated in writing workshops and review training sessions offered by the editorial team. In its open access modality at AOSIS publishers, it has been a leading South African journal in the open science movement.