Intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice: Transforming South African higher education

a culturally and socially just pedagogy for transformative higher education classrooms. This article contributes to the continuing dialogues about transformative pedagogies, decolonisation and social justice in South African higher education.

Introduction
Transformation agenda remains at the heart of debates in South African higher education (Badat & Sayed 2014;Blignaut 2020;Leibowitz & Bozalek 2016;Maistry 2021). Subsequently, there is a call for transformative pedagogies that are culturally responsive and cognisant of social justice issues in higher education (Blignaut & Koopman 2020). In the meantime, Blignaut (2020:1) is concerned about the slow pace of transformation in South African higher education. There is no complete transformation in higher education without redressing ways of enacting the curriculum and without re-centering social justice issues such as equal learning opportunities, fair participation and language equity (Leibowitz & Bozalek 2016;Maistry 2021). Higher education pedagogical practices in South Africa continue to draw from the Western Eurocentric views, which undermine and dismiss indigenous philosophies such as Ubuntu as false assumptions and a simple illegitimate African thinking (Letseka 2014:334). Such negative assumptions about African indigenous knowledge systems result in students from African cultures feeling unwelcomed and alienated in higher education (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2018:8). In fact, Ndlovu-Gatsheni refers to this rejection of knowledge that African students bring to higher education as 'epistemic violence'. Epistemic violence is considered as 'violence at the level of curriculum, including pedagogies, perpetrated by untransformed and alienating higher education landscape'. Heleta (2016:48) concurred that epistemic violence is an unacceptable form of oppression and marginalisation directed at indigenous students to make them feel inferior and undeserving of higher education.
In response to 'epistemic violence' in higher education Chilisa (2016) called for 'epistemic freedom', which departs from social justice and human rights perspectives. Chilisa (2012) asserted that 'epistemic freedom' is not an event, but a process that involves enactment of decolonising research and pedagogical methodologies as means of achieving 'epistemic freedom' by formerly colonised people, women and indigenous people whose knowledge systems remain rejected and marginalised. In similar ways, Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2018) defined 'epistemic freedom' in the following way: Epistemic freedom is different from academic freedom. Academic freedom speaks to institutional autonomy of universities and rights to express diverse ideas including those critical of authorities and political leaders. Epistemic freedom is much broader and deeper. It speaks to cognitive justice; it draws our attention to the content of what it is that we are free to express and on whose terms. Epistemic freedom is about democratising 'knowledge' from its current rendition in the singular into its plural known as 'knowledges'. It is also ranged against overrepresentation of Eurocentric thought in knowledge, social theory, and education. Epistemic freedom is foundational in the broader decolonisation struggle because it enables the emergence of critical decolonial consciousness. (p. 18) Echoing Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2018) on the importance of critical consciousness about issues of equality and social justice in education are Blignaut and Koopman (2020:82) who argued that issues of social justice in education cannot be swiped under the carpet, especially amongst teacher educators as they play an important role enacting the curriculum. In fact, Blignaut and Koopman (2020) emphasised that: If teacher educators do not undertake this important task of focusing critically on social justice, their students will run the risk of perpetuating racism, stereotypes, and existing inequalities and thereby reproduce the old prevailing hegemony and the existing social order characterised by inequity and injustice. (p. 82) It is upon these debates and insights by Blignaut and Koopman (2020) and Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2018) that other South African scholars (Heleta 2016;Le Grange et al. 2020;Maistry 2021) call for urgent transformations in South African higher education that will put an end to epistemic injustices that devalue indigenous knowledge systems such as Ubuntu whilst promoting scientific knowledge. In this article, we argue that the discrimination and marginalisation of indigenous knowledge systems such as Ubuntu in higher education and the persistent preference of Western scientific knowledge systems remain a throbbing issue, especially for people from indigenous knowledge systems. We therefore join transformational scholars such as Maistry (2021) and Le Grange et al. (2020) in their call for socially just higher education, especially in South Africa.
In defence of Ubuntu philosophy in education as a social issue, Ramose (ed. 2002) proposed that despite Ubuntu philosophy being a significant and a powerful education instrument that has been used for many centuries by indigenous African communities to educate, guide and maintain positive human interactions and relationships amongst African indigenous people, it has been excluded and oppressed in formal educational arenas in favour of Western philosophies. Ramose (ed. 2002) contended that such rejection of Ubuntu philosophy has prevented this indigenous knowledge from being effectively transferred to the next generations. As a result, Ramose (ed. 2002) thought that educational contexts such as universities are the most suitable for the restoration of Ubuntu philosophy to its rightful position: that of being at the centre of preserving African values amongst young people. Ukpokodu (2016) holds similar thoughts, he asserts that it is through Ubuntu pedagogy that Ubuntu philosophy can be accorded an honourable and fair recognition. Besides, Metz (2011) observed that Ubuntu philosophy represents social justice in the sense that it embraces social values of inclusion, participation and respect for all and as a pedagogical tool, it has a potential to preserve indigenous knowledge systems and practices amongst students and restore their identities (Le Grange 2011).
In consideration of the arguments raised by scholars (Le Grange 2011; ed. Ramose 2002; Ukpokodu 2016) on the connections between Ubuntu philosophy and social justice, this article builds on such debates to advance justifications for the rethinking of teaching and learning in higher education from Ubuntu pedagogical perspective. We argue that Ubuntu philosophy, which is an indigenous knowledge system and way of life for African people, when embodied with esteem and dignity it deserves, has the potential not only of restoring indigenous values, heritage and cultures amongst students, but also Ubuntu philosophy has a capacity to promote values of co-existence and social cohesion amongst students from diverse backgrounds.
It has an ability to promote values of social justice such as inclusivity and fair participation amongst students (Letseka 2014:547). We suggest that an understanding of Ubuntu philosophy and social justice is essential for appropriate implementation. In the following section, we thus begin by unpacking, first, the concept of Ubuntu philosophy and its intrinsic values and principles. We then move to the concept of social justice and we attempt to position it within the context of higher education, where we argue, it belongs. We draw from Mbigi's (1997) Collective Fingers Theory and Social Justice Theory (Fraser 2008) to propose for Ubuntu pedagogy, which draws from the indigenous Ubuntu philosophy, as a transformative approach that can bring about co-existence, respect, inclusion and social justice in higher education classrooms. Later in this article, we suggest practical guidelines for possible and effective implementation of Ubuntu pedagogy in diverse higher education classrooms.

Unpacking Ubuntu philosophy
Different African philosophers and scholars have grappled with the notions and constructions of Ubuntu philosophy (Broodryk 2005;Le Grange 2011;Letseka 2014;Metz 2014;Mbigi 1997). Firstly, they all agree that it is difficult to translate the concept of Ubuntu into English since there is no equivalent meaning. These scholars also concur that during translation into English the concept of Ubuntu loses its essence and true meaning. Even though the term 'ubuntu' is mostly known to come from South African Nguni languages (isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, isiSwati), it exists in different lexes across various Bantu languages of sub-Saharan Africa. In Chewa language of Zambia, the term 'ubuntu' is referred to as Umunthu. In Yao language, Malawi, it is known as Umundu. Amongst Tsonga speakers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland, they refer to it as Bunhu. In Shona language of Zimbabwe, it is known as Unhu, whilst Venda speakers in South Africa call it Vhutu. Nguni languages refer to it as Ubuntu (Letseka 2014;Mbigi 1997). Now, how do all these different African communities understand Ubuntu?
Amongst South African philosophers, Ubuntu refers to ancient African worldviews associated with humanness or being humane (ed. Letseka 2000;Metz 2014). In explaining 'humanness' or being human(e), Johnstone (1981) in Letseka (ed. 2000) expounded that: To be humane suggests that one's conduct is guided by a respect for and tenderness toward other beings. It suggests a prizing of these beings and a desire to protect and nourish them. (p. 547) Le Grange (2011) argued that it is difficult to define Ubuntu in a standard form as 'the meaning is interwoven in the cultural practices and lived experiences of African peoples' (p. 71). Meanwhile, Ramose (ed. 2002:26) stressed that humanity is 'to be a human being and one's humanity is affirmed by recognising the humanity of others and, on that basis, establish humane relations with them', hence, a Nguni axiom 'umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu' (I am because you are, you are because I am). At the same time, Mbigi (1997) in his Collective Fingers Theory emphasised that Ubuntu philosophy is underpinned by social and human values of togetherness, solidarity, compassion and interdependence. All these constructions of Ubuntu philosophy encapsulate social justice principles of respect for individuality 'umuntu' (a person) and his belonging amongst other people 'abantu' (Chilisa 2012;Sibanda 2019). Furthermore, Chilisa (2012) paid more attention to the Ubuntu notions of 'I/We' which are more acceptive of interdependence, as opposed to the Eurocentric 'I/You' relationships, which assert individualism.
In furthering the conceptions of Ubuntu axiom 'umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu ' Mbigi (1997) observed that: In traditional life, the individual does not and cannot exist alone except corporately. He owes his existence to people, including those of past generations and his contemporaries. He is simply part of the whole. The community must therefore make, create, or produce the individual; for the individual depends on the corporate group ... Whatever happens to the individual happens to the whole group, and whatever happens to the whole group happens to the individual. The individual can only say: 'I am, because we are; and since we are therefore I am'. (p. 36) What Mbigi (1997) is arguing for, is that in African cultures an individual is not complete without the group and the group is not privileged over the individual. Equity is fundamental to Ubuntu. In his Ubuntu theoretical work, Collective Fingers Theory, Mbigi (1997) built on social justice principles of equity amongst members of the social groups. This is how Mbigi (1997) related his Ubuntu theory to social justice: An African principle behind the Collective Fingers Theory is that a thumb although is strong cannot kill aphids on its own, it would require the collective cooperation and equal contribution of efforts from other fingers. From this African proverb we can construe three meanings. Firstly, like fingers, individual persons need to work collectively and cooperatively to achieve any aspired goal. Secondly, recognition as equals promote willingness to participate. Thirdly, fingers in the proverb can represent core African values, which when internalised and nurtured, can promote a collective culture. The five core values of Ubuntu are identified as survival, solidarity spirit, compassion, respect and dignity. (p. 33) It goes that survival was an essential aspect of indigenous communities as it enabled them to get through harsh environmental conditions, and to effectively do that, they relied on each other. Despite their differences, they needed one another for existence. Solidarity spirit was also fundamental for working together and cooperatively to achieve a common goal. The same goes for compassion that was also important to generate a feeling of belonging and interconnectedness amongst African communities. The Collective Fingers Theory implies that even though there was little formal education for indigenous people centuries ago, Ubuntu philosophy provided traditional education for indigenous people whereby they were socialised into respecting one another, being responsible for themselves and towards others and to co-exist. Metz (2011) argued it is relatively impossible to bypass issues of social justice when addressing matters of Ubuntu. Therefore, in the following section we intersect Ubuntu and social justice.

Intersection of Ubuntu philosophy and social justice
Even though there is limited research that looks at the intersection of Ubuntu philosophy and social justice in South African higher education, scholars such as Leibowitz and Bozalek (2016) have explored social justice in the context of scholarship of teaching and learning in South African higher education. Blignaut (2020), on the other hand, continued to advocate for social justice in the South African schooling system as he believes that curriculum that is anchored on social justice is likely to cultivate compassionate citizens who have enthusiasm for sense of justice and creation of equal opportunities for all. Another important work on social justice and curriculum comes from Maistry (2021) who recently theorised curriculum in South African higher education from the social justice framework. Elsewhere, scholars (Chilisa 2016;Sibanda 2019) have also attempted to explore Ubuntu theory and social justice in global contexts such as Zimbabwe. In this study, we largely draw from these recent works on social justice and Ubuntu philosophy to bring together these two frameworks in the context of South African higher education. We argue that there is a compelling connection between Ubuntu and social justice and that these two terms do not compete, but they harmonise each other. To base our argument, we draw from the notions provided by Sibanda (2019) who contended that Ubuntu embodies the essence of humanity in values such as respect, dignity, equity and interdependence. In that way, 'Social justice is part and parcel of what it means to be human' (Sibanda 2019:76).
Like Ubuntu philosophy, social justice is more concerned with recognition and acceptance of shared values and resources amongst community members (Metz 2011). Social justice attests to and speaks of the acceptable and shared values of those who call themselves 'abantu' (people). This implies values of togetherness, communalism and respect amongst those who share similar values. Both Ubuntu and social justice are shaped by positive human relations, how people in a particular context accept and negotiate values for their togetherness (Metz 2011). The values of Ubuntu embrace principles of social justice such as equality (promotes equal opportunities), equity (encourages interdependence) and fairness (brings about equal sharing of resources such that all members survive). Where there is no equal recognition and respect, principles of Ubuntu philosophy are compromised (Metz 2011).
In the same way that Ubuntu thrives on communalism and co-existence, Fraser (2008) in her Social Justice theory, argued that social justice advances notions of equal participation and fair distribution of resources amongst members in a social context. Expanding on the connections between Ubuntu and social justice, Sibanda (2019) contended that: Social justice is therefore culturally specific, drawing on shared assumptions about the nature of being, how we arrive at this common understanding and the values that inform what is perceived to be in the best interest of all, and all possible relationships in that context. The importance of the, I/We relationship cannot be over emphasised in this understanding of social justice. Justice, in this light is not based on individual rights but rather the collective rights of the 'WE' in the I/We relationship which are aspects of Ubuntu theory. (p. 77) From these constructions, we understand that living in a socially just, respectful and harmonious environment is central to Ubuntu. This is possible when an individual respects himself and others. That also goes for respecting the rights and ideas of others, which are the desired principles of social justice. There are many ways in which Ubuntu philosophy resonates with social justice. As a result of the limited number of words for this article, we highlighted a few. Having defended connections between Ubuntu philosophy and social justice, we now turn our focus to the pedagogical aspects of Ubuntu, which Ukpokodu (2016) conceptualised as Ubuntu pedagogy. We situate Ubuntu pedagogy within the context of social justice and higher education.

Ubuntu pedagogy and transformation in higher education
South Africa has a long history of racial oppression, segregation and social inequalities as a result of apartheid. After 28 years of democracy, higher education is still grappling with issues of socially just higher education (Leibowitz & Bozalek 2016) and transformative pedagogies (Badat & Sayed 2014). It has been noticed that there is little cooperation, co-existence and social cohesion amongst students from diverse cultural backgrounds in South African higher education (Goduka 2000).
Such lack of social cohesion, cooperation and co-existence amongst students from diverse social backgrounds mainly stem from the fact that South Africa during apartheid was divided according to racial and cultural lines. Before 1994, different racial groups were confined into separated areas and attended different schools. Consciously or otherwise, students bring along these social divisions and inequalities when they join universities. One group of students, mainly African students, and to some extent, Indians and mixed race, come from a background of oppression, marginalisation, limited opportunities and exclusion whilst the other group, white students, come from a privileged background of opportunities and higher status in society (Badat & Sayed 2014). Suddenly, all these students come together in higher education and they are expected to harmoniously build relations and live happily. It is not easy to achieve social cohesion without any interventions geared towards promoting social co-existence amongst students from diverse backgrounds. Ubuntu pedagogy thus has a potential to promote togetherness, coexistence, respect and cooperation amongst students. Ukpokodu (2016) clarified this in the following way: Ubuntu pedagogy draws from the Ubuntu philosophical values of compassion, care, cooperation, respect and dignity to provide a learning environment that brings together students from different cultural backgrounds to value each one another's cultures, opinions, ideas and learn to cooperate and to coexist. (p. 155) From the above Ukpokodu (2016) discussion it emerges that the main tenet of Ubuntu pedagogy is that all students, regardless of the racial, educational, economic and linguistic backgrounds and sexual orientations, all have potential to excel in their learning if their humanity is positioned at the forefront of their learning processes. In furthering his defence of Ubuntu pedagogy, Ukpokodu (2016) asserted that: As human beings, students naturally aspire to feelings of compassion and care, dignity and respect. Ubuntu pedagogy encourages teachers to create empowering learning spaces which affirms, validate and treat all students as dignified human beings. (p. 155) In this way, Ukpokodu (2016) affirmed Ubuntu pedagogy values equity, dignity, compassion and respect of all students in the classroom. It has a potential to bring together students such that they perceive each other as significant others who bring unique backgrounds, experiences and prior knowledge to build on towards the development of new knowledge and create meaningful learning spaces. In that way, all students perceive each other as equal partners and begin to understand that they need each other for effective learning. One is not complete without the other. Hence, the essence of Ubuntu pedagogy lies in the recognition of equal partnerships and co-existence between the teachers and students as cocreators of knowledge. Thus, the Ubuntu maxim 'umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu' (a person is a person through other people) comes into full blossom in the classroom (Letseka 2014). Ukpokodu (2016) argued that teachers embracing Ubuntu pedagogy provide all students, irrespective of their cultural, linguistic, social class, religion and sexual orientations with equal opportunities to develop and to exercise their full capacities. At the intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice, all students are treated with dignity and respect regardless of their backgrounds. The value of Ubuntu pedagogy is to build positive relationships between diverse students and break down the barriers of diversity within the classroom settings (Ukpokodu 2016). These are the goals of social justice in education (Broodryk 2005). Broodryk (2005) observed that Ubuntu encompasses values of social justice and promotes relationships between learners breaking down barriers and stereotypes with regard to race, gender, ability, language and culture. For teachers in higher education to fully practice social justice, they should first be influenced by Ubuntu values. Ubuntu, therefore, can be regarded as a weapon that can be used by teachers to challenge the inequity and injustices.

When higher education teachers understand and embrace
Ubuntu it is likely that Ubuntu values can empower them to combat exclusion and employ pedagogies that aim to reach all students in the classrooms. Inclusive pedagogies thrive on the connectedness between students alone and between their teachers, which all provide a positive learning environment. This, in turn, positively influences students' self-worth, self-belief and achievement. Successful learning depends on these networks of support. Inclusive education is the essence of Ubuntu -'that we live in a delicate web of interconnectedness and interdependence with each other, I am because we are' (ed. Phasha 2016). Like Ubuntu, inclusive pedagogies embrace equal participation, cooperation and solidarity amongst students and between students and teachers. In this way, all learners feel a sense of belonging and acceptance.
Ubuntu pedagogy does not only encourage development of all students as individuals, but it also promotes active collaboration between students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds who bring different characteristics and learning needs into the classrooms. In this way, Ubuntu pedagogy affirms diversity as an ordinary aspect of development in a higher education classroom. Ubuntu pedagogy rejects exclusion, marginalisation and inequality in the teaching and learning spaces (ed. Phasha 2016). These notions of Ubuntu pedagogy further solidify the connections between Ubuntu and social justices into the learning environments. There is limited information, especially in South Africa, on the pedagogies that depart from an African indigenous knowledge systems framework such as Ubuntu pedagogy within the realm of social justice. This study seeks to fill the existing gap. We further provide, in the following section, guidelines for possible implementation of Ubuntu pedagogy in diverse higher education contexts, especially in South Africa.

Ubuntu pedagogy: The guiding principles for possible implementation
Ubuntu pedagogy is anchored by six principles that underpin and guide its possible and effective implementation as a transformative and socially just pedagogical strategy in higher education settings: recognition of self and others, building positive relationships, getting students to work cooperatively, nurturing of the students' minds, teaching from a position of love and care and utilising students' linguistic resources to promote meaningful learning (Ukpokodu 2016).

Recognition of self and others
Through participation and interactions humans develop identity and belonging. From an African perspective, teaching and learning suggest that it is through engagement with other people that a person grows more fully human, more truly in their identity. In other words, through participation and interaction with others we see ourselves -'I participate, therefore I am' (Tutu 2000). In other words, I see myself through others; therefore I feel that I belong. Ubuntu pedagogy, therefore, places value in collective learning through interactions and participation. Students understand more of what they know or do not know through interactions with others. Active learning through participation, interactions, sharing of ideas, knowledge and experiences promotes effective learning. Equally, understanding of self and others is critical in a learning process. If you understand yourself, you know your strengths and accept your weaknesses. If you understand others, you also understand their strengths and weaknesses. A learning process therefore becomes an interdependent and a mutual activity (Le Grange 2011).

Building positive relationships
A second component of Ubuntu pedagogy is building a positive relationship. It is this component of Ubuntu pedagogy that is responsible for peace and a harmonious learning environment where students respect one another and their teachers as adults within the learning context. Effective learning cannot take place unless students, firstly, embrace one another, and secondly, respect each other as individuals and human beings. Love brings care for one another, sympathy, forgiveness, sharing and peace in the classroom. Love amongst learners ensures that they share not only knowledge, but they also share learning tools and learning spaces with one another (Ukpokodu 2016). Where there is love for one another, there is respect and acceptance plus tolerance for diverse and unique social backgrounds and respect for one another's ideas. When students love and respect each other, there are high chances that they will listen to one another's ideas and thoughts and learn from them. Pedagogical practices anchored by Ubuntu bring about kindness, caring, togetherness, solidarity, cooperation and sharing amongst students and teachers, which all promote positive relationships (Metz 2011;Ukpokodu 2016).

Getting students to work cooperatively
Working together is another important principle of Ubuntu pedagogy. It promotes unity and team spirit amongst students as they tackle learning problems. Effective cooperation thrives on solidarity, sharing and respect for one another and equal opportunities. In an effective teamwork, each member is important for successful learning experiences. Each member's contribution is important and it is valued. Working together promotes the Ubuntu notion of 'for I know, so you know' classroom environment where learners not only take care of each other's physical needs such as sharing classroom furniture and learning tools but they also share knowledge, thus extending each other's cognitive development (Ukpokodu 2016). Supporting one another is a vital component of Ubuntu pedagogy. In an African Ubuntu perspective, sharing knowledge means I give you what I know, I am giving you what I have so that you can also have because tomorrow I will also need your help. Therefore, Ubuntu pedagogy ensures that students work together and assist one another to learn and understand the learning material.

Nurturing of students' minds
Another important element of Ubuntu pedagogy is the nurturing of students' minds. Ubuntu pedagogy prioritises participative and interactive learning. Students learn best when they interact their ideas, thoughts and experiences with each other. Interaction on the learning material maximises participation. An active learning promotes engagement with the learning material. Students get opportunities to discuss the problems, to ask questions, to debate concepts and to share their thinking and experiences. Such classrooms foster cognitive development amongst learners. They nurture learners' minds and expand their learning opportunities (Letseka 2014).

Teaching from a position of love and care
It is rather impossible to speak of Ubuntu without referring to acts of humanity such as love, kindness, sympathy and respect and solidarity. Education without love becomes a mere ideology (Blackwood 2018). Teachers in higher education may draw from a variety of teaching strategies and techniques but if teachers lack love for the students and for the teaching, such efforts fail to inspire students. If good strategies are used by an unloving teacher who spends more time consciously or unconsciously speaking and acting in contrary to love, this may disempower students and they may lose respect for the teacher. That is, teaching that truly inspires, humanises and empowers students not only comes from good strategies and perfect curriculum, but it is also the pedagogy that is love-centred. Teacher's love makes a difference in the presence of effective teaching tools and strategies. Without a loving and inspirational teacher in the classroom, subjects and learning can be boring and irrelevant. 'As one develops towards love, one is capable of loving one's self holistically and because of this holistic love of one's self love, one can love the world holistically' (Blackwood 2018:30). Teaching from a position of love does not only empower students in the classroom, but it also sparks a change for the better in students no matter what the situation is. Teacher's love helps students to preserve in time of academic challenges. Love and care can embrace their students' diverse personalities and they love their strengths and weaknesses in the classroom (Blackwood 2018). Such teachers never doubt the potential and capabilities of their students. Instead they help students grow beyond their intellectual abilities. A classroom that is centred on teacher' love towards students and amongst students is nurturing and supportive. Students are motivated to help one another overcome learning barriers. In that way, students become willing to learn together and share information. Such pedagogy is anchored by Ubuntu (Ukpokodu 2016).

Utilising students' linguistic resources to promote meaningful learning: Ubuntu translanguaging
In the South African higher education system English language remains the most important resource for access, participation and success. This is despite English being home language to a small group of students, thus, denying majority of students who bring to the universities, languages other than English. At the same time, South Africa is rich in multilingualism with 11 official languages. Many students bring multilingual repertoires into higher education classrooms (Makalela 2016:187). The presence of more than one language makes many higher education classrooms bilingual or multilingual. However, research shows that many higher education institutions, despite accepting multilingual students into their classrooms and despite recognising multilingualism policies, remain monolingual in their language of teaching and learning which, in the case of South Africa, is English. Higher education institutions continue to neglect languages that students bring with them from home to university classrooms and they persist in using a foreign language, English, for teaching and learning for multilingual students (Makalela 2016:188). Learning in a second language is one of the major learning barriers for second language students. Makalela (2016:188) called for an urgent acknowledgement of students' diverse languages for meaningful learning and teaching in multilingual classrooms.
Embracing language diversity is the ultimate goal of Ubuntu pedagogy (Ukpokodu 2016:188). It is through their languages that students make sense of the world and reflect meaningfully. Embracing students' home languages alongside the language of teaching and learning restores students' identity and dignity of their cultural languages. Besides, Makalela (2016) felt: [T]hat it is time that boundaries that isolate and separate languages are broken so all languages that students bring to the university classrooms could be used for enhancing students ' learning. (p. 189) Multilingual practices such as translanguaging enable multilingual teachers and students to draw from different linguistic repertoires for meaningful and purposeful learning. This type of learning can be transformative. However, successful multilingual practices such as translanguaging require that teachers accept and recognise all languages spoken by students as equal. Linguistic equality means that no language is viewed in a superior way than other languages in the classroom (Makalela 2016:188).

Conclusion
In this article we argued that many years after democracy in South Africa, higher education has not transformed. Pedagogical practices, by and large, still draw from the Western philosophies and world views, despite majority of students in higher education being students from African cultures. We join Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2018) in declaring this continuous oppression and neglect of belief systems and values that African students bring to higher education as 'epistemic violence'. We also join scholars (Blignaut 2020;Chilisa 2016;Maistry 2021) in their urgent call for 'epistemic freedom' through decolonial and transformative pedagogies. Drawing from Mbigi (1997) Collective Fingers Theory and Social Justice Theory (Fraser 2009) we proposed for Ubuntu pedagogy as an alternative teaching method that draws from indigenous Ubuntu philosophical values. We argued that Ubuntu pedagogy, when embraced with understanding and dignity it deserves, has the potential not only of initiating and reconnecting students with their values and cultures but it also has a capacity to cultivate social justice values of inclusion, recognition of self and others and activate participation. We have shown how Ubuntu can foster understanding of self and others amongst learners, build positive relationships, encourage cooperation and respect amongst learners, inspire teachers to teach from a position of love and care and promote inclusion and social justice for all students and, thus, become a transformative pedagogical method for post-apartheid higher education. We hope to make contributions to ongoing debates on transformative pedagogies, decolonisation and social justice in higher education.


extfieldsofstudy: Medicine Psychology

text:
Effect of Integrated Training on Balance and Ankle Reposition Sense in Ballet Dancers

Objective: To investigate the effects of a 6-week integrated training program on the ankle joint reposition sense and postural stability in ballet dancers. Methods: Sixteen female ballet dancers participated in the study and underwent a 6-week integrated training program consisting of plyometric, proprioception and core stability exercises along with a home program involving additional ankle muscle strengthening and stretching. The ankle joint reposition tests and the parameters of the center of pressure (COP) while performing grand-plie (deep squatting) and releve en demi-pointe (standing on balls of foot) movements were measured before and after training. Results: After 6 weeks, participants showed significantly smaller absolute ankle joint reposition errors in dorsiflexion (p = 0.031), plantarflexion (p = 0.003) and eversion (p = 0.019) compared to the pre-training measurement. Furthermore, after training, a significantly slower average COP speed at pre-equilibrium during grand-plie movement (p = 0.003) and pre-equilibrium phase of releve en demi-pointe (p = 0.023) were observed. In addition, the maximum COP displacement in the medial-lateral direction was significantly smaller at pre-equilibrium phase during grand-plie (p = 0.044) and releve en demi-pointe movements (p = 0.004) after training. Conclusions: The 6-week integrated training program improved the ankle joint reposition sense and postural control in the medial-lateral direction during grand-plie and releve en demi-pointe movements.

Introduction
Ballet requires intensive training to reach the demanded aesthetic standards. Consequently, ballet dancers are under intense physical and psychological demands during training, rehearsal and performance [1]. The physical demands imposed on dancers are exacerbated by insufficient warm-up or cool-down periods, inadequate stretching exercises, and deficient training on core muscles [2]. Such improper practices may lead to micro-trauma of the soft tissues (i.e., the ligaments, tendons, or muscles). Furthermore, the accumulation of these micro-traumas over time increases the risk of injury and may potentially affect the dancer's performance, or even end their career [3]. Many studies have shown that ballet dancers are at a greater risk of injury to the ankle or foot than other performers or athletes due to the higher demands placed on the ankle and foot during the execution of ballet movements [2,4,5]. Among all the injuries suffered by ballet dancers, one of the most common injuries is ankle sprain [6], accompanied by residual symptoms such as pain, muscle weakness, delayed neuromuscular response, and impaired proprioception function. Thus, proper training programs aimed at minimizing ankle injuries and improving the balance ability are essential in maintaining the health and performance of ballet dancers. 2 of 12 Proprioception plays an essential role in ensuring a smooth and coordinated movement of the body by providing a conscious or unconscious awareness of the joint position [7]. Proprioception of the ankle joints is particularly important to ballet dancers in maintaining postural stability in response to perturbations or challenging movements (e.g., single-leg standing or jump-landing). Consequently, proprioception training is widely applied to ballet dancers with ankle sprain in order to improve or regain the function of the proprioception receptors around the ankle joint [7][8][9][10].
Plyometric exercise is an intensive exercise consisting of fast and powerful movements achieved via eccentric contraction of the muscles followed immediately by quick concentric contraction. The effects of plyometric exercise on performance and injury prevention have been widely studied in many sports, including soccer, basketball and volleyball [11][12][13]. Brown et al. [9] compared the effects of six-week plyometric training and six-week traditional weight training in basketball players and found that both training programs improved muscle strength of the lower extremities and power-related variables. However, the effects of plyometric exercise on balance control were not investigated. Additionally, athletes who received six-week plyometric training had significant improvement on the knee joint reposition sense compared to those receiving regular training [14,15]. The balance ability and the functional performance [15][16][17], such as single leg hopping distance [16] or standing jump distance [17] were also improved significantly after plyometric training in athletes. Plyometric exercise of the lower extremities generally involves repetitive jump-landing movements and agility tasks with rapid changes of directions [10,18]. Such movements involve instantaneous stretch-shortening cycles that actuate the mechanical or proprioception receptors on the ligaments of the foot or tendons around the ankle joint due to the muscle spindle is more sensitive to the instantaneous stretching [19], and are thus of great potential benefit in improving the reposition sense of the ankle joint and enhancing the balance ability accordingly.
Core stability exercise (or core strengthening) is a widely used training program for improving athletic performance or preventing injury [20]. A greater stability of the core region provides the foundation for an improved force generation and transition of the extremities, and therefore plays a key role in improving postural stability [21,22] and sports performance [23][24][25].
As described above, the ankle joint in ballet dancers is subjected to intense physical demands during the execution of ballet movements. Consequently, effective training programs are essential to prevent injuries to the ankle joint (particularly strains) and improve the balance ability accordingly. Previous studies have shown that plyometric exercise, proprioception training and core stability strengthening are effective techniques for minimizing the risk of injury and improving performance in many different types of sports [26][27][28]. The present study speculates that such training programs may also benefit ballet dancers. Accordingly, an integrated six-week ballet training program is devised consisting of plyometric exercise, proprioception training and core stability exercise. The effectiveness of the proposed program is evaluated by measuring the center of pressure (COP) parameters of ballet dancers while performing grand-plie (deep squatting) and releve en demi-pointe movements before and after the training program, respectively. It is hypothesized that the ballet dancers will exhibit an improved ankle joint reposition sense and improved balance ability during ballet movements after receiving the proposed training program.

Participants
Sixteen female ballet dancers having ballet training history of minimum seven years and routine ballet training of minimum two hours per week were recruited from a college dance department to participate in this study. The mean age was 17.50 ± 1.37 years. The mean body height and body weight was 161.44 ± 4.22 cm and 51.03 ± 4.52 kg. The body mass index was 19.59 ± 1.82 kg/m 2 . All of the dancers had a classical ballet training history of at least seven years (10.72 ± 2.92 years).
Participants with a history of balance and vestibular problems, or any other impairment which might potentially affect their balance, or any acute inflammation or pain that affected their performance at the physical screening stage, were excluded.
In addition, four participants reported previous ankle sprain more than 4.5 years ago and did not have another onset of ankle sprain since then. The study was designed in accordance with ethical protocols and all the participants read and signed a formal consent form approved by the university Institutional Review Board (ER-95-190) prior to joining the study.

Joint Reposition Sense
The joint reposition sense of the ballet dancers was evaluated using a bi-axis electrogoniometer (GA 150, Biometrics Ltd., Gwent, UK) placed around the ankle joint. The electrogoniometer signals were recorded by instruNet software through an analog-todigital box (instruNet-iNet-100, Omega Enginerring Inc., Norwalk, CT, USA).
The absolute errors of active ankle joint reposition sense were measured in target angles of 10 • dorsiflexion (DF), 20 • plantarflexion (PF), 10 • eversion (EV), 10 • inversion (IV) and 20 • inversion in the dominant leg. Note that the dominant leg was determined as the leg used preferentially by the participants in performing forward hops.
In conducting the measurement process, the dancers sat on a custom-made chair with hip and knee flexion at 90 • and trunk erected. The axis of motion in the sagittal plane (i.e., dorsiflexion and plantarflexion) was taken as the line passing through the lateral and medial malleolus with the ankle in the neutral position. By contrast, the motion of the ankle in the frontal plane (i.e., eversion and inversion) was tested with the ankle in slight plantarflexion. The participants were asked to close their eyes during the tests to avoid visual cues. The participant's ankle was placed passively to the target angle and maintained at the placed angle for 5 s. The ankle was then repositioned passively to the initial position by the same investigator. Once the ankle was restored to the initial position, the participant was instructed to reposition the ankle actively to the target angle and maintain the ankle in that position for 5 s.

Balance Ability during Ballet Movements
The balance ability test was measured during ballet dancing movements including grand-plie and releve en demi-pointe. The three-dimensional trajectories of the reflective markers placed on the sacrum and heel posteriors of participants were captured at a sampling rate of 100 frames per second by a videographic acquisition system consisting of eight CCD cameras (Eagles, Motion Analysis Corporation, Rohnert Park, CA, USA) in order to define the phases during movement. In addition, the center of pressure (COP) positions of the participants' feet were detected by a force plate (9281B Kistler Instrument Corp., Winterthur, Switzerland) at a rate of 1000 samples per second. The videographic data and force plate data were time-synchronized to 1000 Hz using a linear interpolation method. The participants were asked to stand on a large piece of paper in the ballet first position and the outlines of the feet were then drawn on the paper. The foot length was defined as the distance between the tip of the second toe and the mid-heel position. Similarly, the turnout angle was defined as the angle between the lines constructed by the second toes and mid-heels of the two feet [29].
The participants put on ballet slippers and then performed 20-s releve en demi-pointe and 20-s grand-plie movements on the force plate. The ballet releve en demi-pointe movement commenced from the ballet first position and involved raising the heels up to demi-pointe within 5 s, maintaining this position for 10 s, and then returning to the initial position within 5 s (Figure 1). The grand-plie movement also began from the ballet first position, and involved deep squatting with heel-off within 5 s, maintaining the deep squatting position for 10 s, and then returning to the initial position within 5 s ( Figure 2). For all movements, auditory cues were delivered by a metronome to control the movement speed. In addition, three successful trials were obtained for all movements. pointe within 5 s, maintaining this position for 10 s, and then returning to the initial position within 5 s ( Figure 1). The grand-plie movement also began from the ballet first position, and involved deep squatting with heel-off within 5 s, maintaining the deep squatting position for 10 s, and then returning to the initial position within 5 s ( Figure 2). For all movements, auditory cues were delivered by a metronome to control the movement speed. In addition, three successful trials were obtained for all movements.

Training Session
The six-week integrated training program consisted of plyometric exercise, proprioception training, and core stability training (1 h per day, 3 days per week) ( Table 1). In every training session, the participants were asked to warm up with 5 min cycling at a self-selected speed followed by bilateral hamstring and calf muscle stretching. The participants had training sessions in the laboratory every week and received additional home training programs consisting of gastrocnemius and hamstring stretching, ankle muscle strengthening, core muscle training, and plyometric exercises ( Table 2). Each dancer was given a daily log to document their compliance to the home training program and investigators reviewed the daily log every week to ensure their home training volume. Abdominal bracing (10 s * 10) Bridging exercise with one foot on the air bag and one foot on the mat (10 * 2) Swiss-ball (basic bounce, heel raising bounce, and toe raising bounce) (30) Towel squeezing (3 s * 20)  pointe within 5 s, maintaining this position for 10 s, and then returning to the initial position within 5 s ( Figure 1). The grand-plie movement also began from the ballet first position, and involved deep squatting with heel-off within 5 s, maintaining the deep squatting position for 10 s, and then returning to the initial position within 5 s ( Figure 2). For all movements, auditory cues were delivered by a metronome to control the movement speed. In addition, three successful trials were obtained for all movements.

Training Session
The six-week integrated training program consisted of plyometric exercise, proprioception training, and core stability training (1 h per day, 3 days per week) ( Table 1). In every training session, the participants were asked to warm up with 5 min cycling at a self-selected speed followed by bilateral hamstring and calf muscle stretching. The participants had training sessions in the laboratory every week and received additional home training programs consisting of gastrocnemius and hamstring stretching, ankle muscle strengthening, core muscle training, and plyometric exercises ( Table 2). Each dancer was given a daily log to document their compliance to the home training program and investigators reviewed the daily log every week to ensure their home training volume.

Training Session
The six-week integrated training program consisted of plyometric exercise, proprioception training, and core stability training (1 h per day, 3 days per week) ( Table 1). In every training session, the participants were asked to warm up with 5 min cycling at a selfselected speed followed by bilateral hamstring and calf muscle stretching. The participants had training sessions in the laboratory every week and received additional home training programs consisting of gastrocnemius and hamstring stretching, ankle muscle strengthening, core muscle training, and plyometric exercises ( Table 2). Each dancer was given a daily log to document their compliance to the home training program and investigators reviewed the daily log every week to ensure their home training volume. One-leg-standing on the foam with Arabesque (10 * 2). Two-leg-standing on wobble board (clockwise and counter-clockwise) (5) Two-legged jump from mat to 10-cm stage with firm surface (forward-to-backward, and side-to-side) (20) Bridging exercise with each foot on air bag (10 * 2) Swiss-ball exercise (alphabetic sitting on mat, bouncing with front and side foot tap) (30) Towel squeezing (4 s * 20) 3 One-leg-standing on foam with free-leg with sand bag and alphabetic movement (1 * 2) Two-leg-standing on wobble board (clockwise and counter-clockwise) (5) Two-leg jump from mat to 15-cm stage with firm surface (forward-to-backward, and side-to-side) (20) Ankle jump (40) Bridging exercise with crossed-leg on the air bag (10 * 2) Swiss-ball exercise (leg march on ball with each bounce, and alphabetic standing on foam) Towel squeezing exercise with 1 kg sandbag (5 s * 20) 4 One-leg-standing on mat with eyes-closed Standing on the pair of air-bags in 2nd position and perform the demi-plié Two-leg jumping from mat to 15-cm stage with mat surface (forward-to-backward, and side-to-side) (20) Ankle jump (20) Scissors jump (10) Bridging exercise with figure-four-leg on the air bag Swiss-ball exercise (alphabetic sitting on airbag, hop around ball) Towel squeezing exercise with 1.5 kg sandbag (6 s * 20)

Procedure
Participants received joint reposition sense tests and balance ability tests during ballet movements. They then underwent a six-week training program and home training program. The measurements (joint reposition sense, balance ability test during ballet movements) were performed again after a 6-week training.

Data Reduction and Analysis
The COP-related parameters were used to represent the balance ability during grandplie and releve en demi-pointe movements.
For analysis purposes, the grand-plie movement was divided into five phases, namely a 5 s lowering phase from the initiation of movement to the lowest sacrum position; a 10 s squatting phase (divided into three equal sub-phases: pre-equilibrium, equilibrium and post-equilibrium) with the sacrum markers in the lowest position; and a 5 s rising phase from the squatting position to the original standing position. The releve en demipointe movement was similarly divided into five phases, namely rising, pre-equilibrium, equilibrium, post-equilibrium, and lowering based on the position of the sacrum marker.
The COP positions were determined from the virtual acting points of the ground reaction forces. The average speed of the COP in each phase of the movement was computed as the total trajectory length traveled by the COP divided by the corresponding time. The ellipse area was determined as the area enclosing 95% of the COP positions, and was formed by linear curve fitting of the axes. The COP displacements were normalized to the corresponding turnout angle (θ) and average foot length (l) to eliminate the influence of inter-participant differences, i.e., where NCOP AP denotes the normalized COP displacement in the anterior-posterior direction, while NCOP ML denotes the normalized COP displacement in the medial-lateral direction. The COP parameters for analysis included the average COP speed, the COP 95% ellipse area, the normalized maximal COP displacement, and the standard deviation (SD) of the COP displacement in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions in each phase of the corresponding ballet movement. The SD of COP displacements throughout the ballet movement was calculated to assess the variability of COP displacement within a trial.

Statistical Analyses
The variables of interest included the absolute errors of the active joint reposition sense of the ankle and the aforementioned COP measures. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to test the normality of the outcome measures. The paired-t test was then performed to test the training effects on the errors of joint reposition sense and balance ability during ballet dance performance. The effect sizes were also calculated to evaluate the strength of comparison.
The significance level was set as 0.05 in every case. All of the statistical analyses were performed using commercial SPSS software (Vs. 17.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

Balance Ability during Ballet Movements
During releve en demi-point, participants showed a slower average COP speed in the rising (p = 0.011), pre-equilibrium (p = 0.023) and equilibrium phases after training. Participants also showed a smaller maximum displacement in the medial-lateral direction during the pre-equilibrium phase (p = 0.004) and a smaller SD of the COP displacement in the anterior-posterior direction during the lowering phase (p = 0.034). However, no significant difference was observed in the 95% COP ellipse area, maximum displacement in the anterior-posterior direction, or SD of the displacements in the medial-lateral direction after training (Table 4). During grand-plie, participants showed a slower average COP speed in the lowering (p = 0.018), pre-equilibrium (p = 0.003), equilibrium (p = 0.009) and post-equilibrium (p = 0.011) phases after training. Participants also showed smaller maximum displacements of the COP in the medial-lateral direction during the lowering (p = 0.004), pre-equilibrium (p = 0.044) and post-equilibrium (p = 0.011) phases. A smaller SD of the displacements in the medial-lateral direction during the lowering (p = 0.002), pre-equilibrium (p = 0.014), equilibrium (p = 0.046) and post-equilibrium (p = 0.017) phases were observed after training. However, no significant difference was observed between the pre-and post-training values of the 95% COP ellipse area, maximum displacement of the COP, and SD of the COP displacements in the anterior-posterior direction ( Table 5).

Ankle Joint Reposition Sense
The improvement in the reposition sense can be attributed most likely to the elements in the 6-week integrated training program involving dorsiflexion movements (e.g., deep squatting) on the foam mat or air discs. The execution of dorsiflexion movements on such unstable surfaces actively triggers the proprioceptive mechanoreceptors around the ankle joint and gives rise to an improved joint reposition sense as a result. Similarly, the plyometric training exercises involved continuous jump-landing tasks, in which the dancers were required to react quickly in the landing period, thereby actuating the proprioception function of ankle dorsiflexion to enhance the pre-stretching effect of the muscles and increase the contraction force for the following jump motion. Thus, it appears that both plyometric training and proprioception exercises are beneficial in improving the ankle joint reposition sense in ankle dorsiflexion.
Routine ballet training in itself (i.e., no other additional training) appears to be sufficient to improve the repositioning ability of the ankle in dorsiflexion, plantar flexion and eversion. A previous study investigated the ankle joint reposition ability of gymnasts and non-gymnasts and found that the gymnasts had a superior reposition ability performance [18]. It was suggested that this was the natural consequence of the long-term effect of gymnast training [30]. Other studies have suggested that a superior joint replication ability may be associated particularly with movements such as single-leg standing; characterized by extreme ankle plantarflexion [19]. Ballet dancers' ankle joints are often required to bear the entire weight of the body in extreme positions, such as demi-pointe (i.e., standing on the metatarsal heads) or full pointe (i.e., standing on tip-toes). Standing in these extreme positions requires full ankle plantarflexion combined with slight ankle eversion to maintain stability. Consequently, the medial side of the forefoot takes a larger proportion of the weight bearing. This in turn suppresses lateral deviation of the COP and reduces the risk of lateral ankle sprain. Overall, therefore, the improved reposition sense in ankle dorsiflexion, plantarflexion and eversion observed in both groups in the present study may be the natural result of regular ballet training rather than the integrated training program.
No improvement was observed in the ankle joint reposition sense in inversion following the training process. Notably, this contradicts the hypothesis of the present study that the training program can prevent episodes of ankle sprain. It is speculated that the insignificant training effect may be the natural result of regular ballet training. In particular, when performing heel-rise movements in ballet pointe shoes, ballet dancers are instructed to balance on the tips of two or three toes with the foot positioned away from the ankle inversion position. The dancers may apply the similar strategy during training sessions. Consequently, the ankles are routinely placed either neutrally or at slight eversion, and hence the effect of training on the ankle inversion reposition sense is inevitably reduced.
Plyometric exercise involves two main adaptations, namely peripheral and central. In peripheral adaptation, the stretch sensitivity of the Golgi tendon organs (GTOs) is heightened, and hence the muscle spindle contributes more afferents to the central nervous system, together with better proprioception [26]. The continuous jumping movements prescribed in the current training program involve the gastrocnemius muscle as the primary muscle. In other words, the muscle spindles of the gastrocnemius are the primary stimulated targets. This may explain the improved postural stability of the dancers observed in the medial-lateral direction after 6-week training since the plantarflexor and dorsiflexor with turnout (with both hips externally rotated with the heels in contact with each other) are the primary muscles responsible for controlling postural stability in medial-lateral sway during grand-plie and releve en demi-pointe movements.
Central adaptation results from the anticipatory movements required to execute the plyometric exercises prescribed in the training program. For example, the preparation for serial jumping movements facilitates the activity of the central nervous system and hence enhances the sensitiveness of the muscle spindles to position changes. The facilitation of muscle spindles may improve the balance ability during ballet movements and joint reposition ability as a previous study showed that the ankle plantar flexor torques is associated with postural stability [31]. The improved ankle reposition in dorsiflexion and plantarflexion again may contribute to dancers' postural stability in ballet movements. Furthermore, relatively challenging ballet movements with turnout compared to quiet standing are a way to challenge proprioceptive awareness, as a previous study showed that quiet standing is less challenging for dancers [32].

Balance Ability during Ballet Movements
The effects of training on the postural stability of the ballet dancers were observed by measuring the speed and displacements of the COP during releve en demi-pointe and grand-plie movements. The dancers showed a slower COP average speed after the training program; thereby indicating a more stable posture. The improved postural stability may stem from a greater core stability and improved joint reposition sense. For example, a previous study investigated the transient effect of core stability exercises on postural sway, and found that core stability exercises reduce the range of COP displacements in the mediallateral direction and decrease the COP speed during quiet standing [22]. Furthermore, the co-contraction of the back extensor muscles and abdominal muscles induced in the core exercises in the training program may result in an improved torso stability, which also tends to reduce the COP speed during the ballet movements [33]. In addition to a slower COP speed, the ballet dancers also showed an improved joint reposition sense after training. In a previous study, it was shown that participants with functional ankle instability (FAI) exhibited a poorer ankle joint reposition sense and greater COP displacement [34], and thus, the poor ankle joint reposition sense is related to greater COP displacement. The improved joint reposition ability after training in our study inferred that dancers may have superior proprioceptive awareness to detect the changes of postural stability during ballet movements.
The dancers had both a lower absolute displacement of the COP in the medial-lateral direction and a smaller SD of the COP displacements after the training program during releve en demi-pointe and grand-plie movements. Previous studies have reported that improved postural stability in the medial-lateral direction but not in the anterior-posterior direction is associated with the use of different balance strategies in the two directions. In particular, in side-by-side stance, balance in the anterior-posterior direction is maintained mainly by the ankle joint, whereas in the medial-lateral direction, balance is maintained predominantly by the hip abductor/adductor [35]. The core stability exercises prescribed in the integrated training program increase the muscle strength around the hip joints. Consequently, both the absolute values of the COP displacement in the medial-lateral direction and the SD values improve significantly after training.
A previous meta-analysis review reported that proprioception exercises can improve subjective instability and functional outcomes such as Star Excursion Balance test [36]. Similar improvement was also found in our study: ballet dancers in the current study showed improved balance ability when performing ballet movements after integrated training. The neuromuscular control for movements that require precision and postural control ability required the proprioception to contribute to the motor programing [37]. The joint reposition sense was positively correlated with the ability of postural control [34]. This represented that individuals with better joint reposition sense may demonstrate better postural control ability. Hence, the improved ankle joint reposition sense after training may contribute to the improvement of the balance ability during ballet movements. On the other hand, the smaller maximum COP displacement observed in the medial-lateral direction after training may be correlated with the improved reposition sense of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion caused by the more sensitive detection of ankle motion with the foot in the turnout position [38].

Limitations
In the present study, participants underwent assessments at pre-and post-training, however, this study did not have a control group to compare with the intervention effects. Hence, the intervention effectiveness is limited due to the training session including both the proposed training program and the regular ballet training.

Conclusions
This study has investigated the effectiveness of an integrated training program involving proprioception, plyometric and core stability exercises on the joint reposition senses of the ankle joint, the balance ability during specific ballet movements.
The integrated training program improved the neuromuscular control of the ankle joint, which may minimize the risk of ankle sprain during ballet movement by improving the joint reposition sense in dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, and eversion and the balance ability during specific ballet dance movements. Thus, the proposed integrated training program may be an option to be included in ballet dancers' training program on improving the neuromuscular control of the ankle joint and the balance ability.  Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.
Data Availability Statement: Data from this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Conflicts of Interest:
The authors declare no conflict of interest.


STRATEGIES OF SUPPORTING PROGRESSED LEARNERS FOR QUALITY TEACHING AND LEARNING IN VHEMBE DISTRICT, LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA

Progressed learners differ from their counterparts. The difference is reflected in their assimilation, retention and abilities to reproduce what they are taught. Meanwhile, progressing learners due to policy is insufficient, certain support strategies are to be in place. Hence, the study investigated the strategies of supporting “qualified to be progressed” (QP) learners for quality learning and teaching. Mixed methods was employed for data collection. Random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select teachers and School Management Team (SMT) members respectively who formed the study sample. The study was conducted in 10 purposively selected secondary schools in the Vhembe education, Limpopo, South Africa. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 165 selected teachers who were the respondents for the quantitative part of the study. Meanwhile interviews were conducted for the 10 SMTs who formed the participants for the qualitative part of the study. Percentage was used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were used for triangulation. The finding of the study showed amongst others that there are no specific support strategies put in place to assist progressed learners to catch up with their counterparts. The study recommends that schools and relevant education stakeholders put in place support strategies to assist progressed learners.

I. INTRODUCTION
High dropout rate seems to be experienced in South Africa at different levels. According to Moodley and Singh (2015), many undergraduates drop-out from their first year in the university. This suggests that there are some possible challenges that might have been overlooked or were not duly addressed from their secondary education. Review of the work of Mansfield and Horwitz (2020) concurs that the challenge of many university dropouts are from secondary schools. According to Mansfield and Horwitz (2020), the dropout rate in South African secondary schools is alarming. Pretorius (2019) holds the view that South Africa has about one of the highest dropout rate in the global world. Meanwhile, in support of the earlier works of Uleanya and Gamede (2017), Weybright et al. (2017), Pretorius (2019) as well as Manfield and Horwitz (2020), Writer (2020) following the data presented by the Department of Basic Education states that the dropout rate in South African schools is between 37% and 42%. This indicates high dropout rates being experienced in South African schools. In an attempt to address the issue of high dropout rate in secondary schools, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) came up with a policy commonly described as "progression policy (DBE, 2017)." This policy is expected to guide school managements in progressing learners from one class to another. Following a report from the Department of Basic Education (2017), the policy is guided by a rationale which is to minimise the high dropout rate and maximise school retention. However, not all learners who fail are made to progress. There are certain criteria put in place (DBE, 2017). Amongst these criteria include: i. learners must have failed a particular grade two times. ii. must have attended school regularly. iii. they ought to have complied with the school based assessments in all subjects. iv. for learners who fall in the category of those to be progressed to be allowed to go to Grade 12 where matric examination is to be written, they are to be scrutinized to be sure that they must have passed at least four out of the seven subjects offered. Out of the four subjects to have been passed Life Orientation (LO), as well as Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) are compulsory. In congruence to the rationale behind the progression policy by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), Leepo (2015) supports the view for the need and the design of the development of Academic Performance Improvement Plans (APIPs).
According to Leepo (2015), APIPs are developed to identify learners who experience serious challenges, and such learners could be assisted through the development of intervention strategies. However, the questions remain: do intervention strategies exist in secondary school? Where they exist, how effective are they? Thus, the reason for this study which seeks to investigate the strategies adopted and/or put in place in secondary schools to support progressed learners. This investigation is done using a selected education district in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. In order to achieve the aim of this study, attempt is made to proffer answers to the identified research question guiding the study. The research question is: are there intervention strategies and programmes to assist progressed learners to catch up with promoted ones?

II. METHODS
Mixed methods approach was employed for this study. The adopted method allowed for the triangulation of collected data. According to Kumar (2019), adoption of mixed methods approach in a study can be used for triangulating both quantitative and qualitative collected data. The sample of the study comprised teachers and School Management Team (SMT) members from 10 selected secondary schools in Vhembe education district in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the schools, while random and convenient sampling techniques were used to select the teachers and SMT members respectively. The randomly selected teachers who comprised the respondents of this study were 135, while the 10 SMT members were conveniently selected. Random sampling was used for the teachers to give as many as qualified the opportunity to partake in the study. This is in accordance with the work of Kumar (2019) and Creswell (2014) who state that random sampling technique can be adopted in a study to avoid bias and give all who qualify to partake in the study. Convenient sampling was used in selecting the SMT members. This was due to their time schedule, availability and interest to partake in the study. Kumar (2019) and Creswell (2014) agree that convenient sampling can be adopted in selecting respondents or participants of a study based on certain criteria such as their interest in the study, among others. In brief, while the selected teachers took part in the quantitative part of this study, the SMT members were engaged in the qualitative part.
Questionnaire was used for data collection for the quantitative study. The questionnaire comprised two sections. The first section of the questionnaire was targeted at collecting demographic data of the respondents. The second section of the questionnaire focused on collecting data on support strategies available in the schools in assisting progressed learners. Conversely, interview schedule guide was used to collect information for the qualitative study which was used for triangulating responses from the quantitative data. The quantitative data was analysed using percentage, while the qualitative data were used for triangulation following identified themes generated from the analysed data.

III. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS
The findings of the study are presented following the research question guiding the study. The demographic data of the respondents and participants of the study are first presented followed by the analysis from the collected data. were between 25 and 35 years, while those between the age range of 50 and 65 constituted about 31% of the respondents. Also, during the qualitative data collection stage, 10 SMTs were interviewed. Of these, only one principal was a female aged 48. The rest were males who range between the age of 48-55 years. Table 1 also indicates that most of the teachers who formed part of the respondents of this study have relevant subject content knowledge. Meanwhile, only one respondent has Grade 12 and a teacher training qualification of two-years. Regarding the experiences of respondents, 59.3% have been teaching for approximately between 6 and 20 years. This suggests that many of the teachers are experienced to manage the teaching and assessment in a class of learners with different cognitive levels. Respondents with 0-5 years of were about 16.3%. Meanwhile, teachers in this category are envisaged to be in need of support from the SMTs following that they seem to be novice as they have little experience. The respondents with the long teaching experience were between 21 and 36 years, and formed 24.4%. This category of teachers is envisaged following their years of experience to be helpful in providing assistance to those who are less experienced in the management of teaching and assessing for quality activities in relation to teaching and learning.
Furthermore, Table 1 indicates that 71.1% of the respondents are post level one teachers. The HODs form 19.3% of the SMT members which offer subjects in Grade 12. However, 3.7% and 5.9% of the respondents respectively are principals and deputy principals. Meanwhile, they also teach Grade 12 learners. This implies that 9.6% of the respondents are SMT members with the administrative responsibility of making sure that the teaching and assessment of the QP learners is properly managed. In addition, these SMTs also monitor and support teachers in managing the teaching and assessment complexities of the QP learners for quality learning and teaching. Meanwhile, considering the number of HODs at the selected schools, it may be inferred that supervision of teachers may not be as effective as desired. This suggests that teachers do not receive enough support on how they should manage the teaching and assessment in a class of learners with different cognitive levels.
The findings from the analysed quantitative data are presented under various themes. Meanwhile the findings from the qualitative data are used to triangulate the quantitative findings. The information in Table 2 indicates that 35.6% of the respondents always develop the intervention strategies and programmes to assist progressed learners catch up with the promoted ones, while 5.2% never do that. The 35.6% is too low, and this implies that the majority of the QP learners here are not assisted to catch up with the progressed ones. This was confirmed by the principals who said that even though they have intervention strategies they develop at school level; they do not specifically address the catch-up issues concerning the QP learners. They emphasised that the strategies they develop cater for both the QP and promoted learners. Principal A stated that, "Our school policy dictates that teachers should develop intervention strategies for their different subjects in the context of all learners. Developed strategies are discussed at different subject committee meetings to check if they are relevant and implementable. After all, these strategies are for all learners, not specifically for progressed ones only".

Intervention strategies and programmes to assist progressed learners to catch up with promoted ones
The response from principal A was echoed by principal G, who remarked that, "We are on our own as a school. We do not have any assistance from the Department of Education when it comes to the development of intervention strategies. To improve the learners' performance in different subjects, all teachers participate in crafting the intervention strategies. Our teachers know how their learners perform, their strengths and weaknesses in different subjects. Thus, we are well positioned to develop intervention strategies for all these learners".
Given that schools are not assisted by the government; one might say that the progression policy is doomed to fail as such schools lack the much needed assistance from the DBE. Yes, teachers can and would certainly develop intervention strategies in this context, but of what use will these be if they are not in turn supported by the DBE through the provision of learning media to help them use those strategies effectively? In other words, the teachers' efforts here are a waste of time in as much as helping the QP learners is concerned. That is, the teachers' teaching and learning strategies would not matter in situations where the schools are under resourced.
Principal J noted that, "In a class of QP and promoted learners, our teachers are able to select content and develop strategies that suit both sets of learners. They strategize using the previous grade's subject content wherein the QP learners are taught separately in order to narrow the content gap".
These comments comply with Opfer (2016) position that teachers should be allowed time to develop teaching strategies on their own as they know their learners' cognitive levels and the subject content suitable for them. This is also supportive of the work of Hattie (2009) who asserts that teaching strategies are generally multidimensional and they should be developed to cater for learners of different learning abilities. This suggests that strategies should be developed taking into account the subject content and the learners' abilities.
Only a few schools are able to develop intervention strategies that are specifically QP learner oriented, as evidenced by the 5.2% of the respondents who indicated that they never develop such intervention strategies. This is also an indication that if teachers do not develop intervention strategies that are specifically directed at improving the performance of the QP learners, it would be difficult for them to catch up with the promoted learners. Thus, unless teachers are encouraged to develop these strategies, the QP learners would continue to underperform.
Journal of Education, Teaching, and Learning Volume 6 Number 2 September 2021. Page 138-145 p-ISSN: 2477-5924 e-ISSN: 2477 Profiling QP learners for support Table 3 shows the profiling of learners after analysing school term results. This helped identify the challenging topics for support purposes. The figures in Table 3 show that 37.8% of the respondents always profile learners after analysing their results to identify challenging topics in order to provide them with support. About 27.4% sometimes do so, while 3% never do anything about that. This indicates that the majority of learners are not profiled. Thus, teachers may not be able to identify areas where the QP learners still experience challenges in different subjects. They might continue to underperform as a result. Even though some of the principals confirmed during interviews that they profile the QP learners to identify challenging topics, there is a need for all schools to do so if the performance is to improve. These are some of the remarks by the principals, and principal A had this to say, "Yes, we profile them according to item analysis and how they respond to different themes. We do profiling in order to check which topics give them challenges as the QP learners. This makes us choose appropriate approaches for the effective to teaching". Principal F added that, "We encourage teachers to record marks when they give assessment tasks. Like what our Business Studies teacher does. He highlights in red all learners who fail tests four times to show that they are at risk. The moment one takes the mark sheet, one easily identifies the learners who are not doing well. We profile them according to their performance".
Principal I said that they profile learners according to how they performed in Grades 10 and 11 where they look at the subjects and sections they passed, and those they failed.
These principals' remarks auger well with Park, Ji and Lim's (2015) assertion that learner profiling helps the teacher to identify themes that learners experience challenges in or that need immediate attention. Park, Ji and Lim (2015) believes that when challenges in a subject are identified in this way, the teacher then selects suitable approaches to support the QP learners so that they improve their academic performance. Park et al. (2015) hold the view that learner profiling is the best strategy in identifying the learner's challenges in order to provide him/her with the relevant support. Tomlison (2001) is also in agreement that profiling learners assists the teacher in identifying learners at risk at the earliest convenient time. This means that if learners are profiled early, teachers would quickly provide support to those struggling with their studies. Table 4 below shows the frequency with which teachers plan lessons for their QP learners. In Table 4, 18.5% of the respondents indicated that they always plan for the lessons to teach the QP learners, and 4.8% do not. This shows that the majority of teachers do not plan for the activities that would help them teach the QP learners. Nine principals also confirmed this when they stated that they do not plan for the activities when teaching the QP learners. To them, lessons are planned for all learners, not a specific category. This is how they responded, starting with principal A, "It is not possible to prepare separate activities for the QP and promoted learners as they are in one class. We cannot separate them; we collectively handle them. In terms of lesson plans, the preparation is the same, but it terms of making them understand, the extension of the lesson plan is such that the QP learners are given simple tasks as they are slow learners".

Lesson Planning for QP Learners' Activities
Principals B emphatically said no, they do not plan for different activities but, "We plan to teach the QP and promoted learners the same concepts. We only separate them in the afternoons where we teach them according to their weaknesses in different themes".
Principals C said that they do not plan lesson activities for the QP learners only. There are no lessons prepared for the QP and promoted learners separately.
Only one principal indicated that in his school, they plan for lesson activities that are specifically for the QP learners. He pointed out that, "Yes, teachers plan and prepare content specifically for the Q.P learners, including the promoted ones who struggle with their studies. There are learners who were promoted, but do not perform well in class. They are grouped with the QP learners so that they are taught the same subject matter".
Here, the informants' responses are to the effect that they do not develop separate plans for concepts that specifically cater for the QP learners. This suggests that the DBE expects teachers to plan and prepare learning activities that ensures that the QP learners improve their performance. However, these teachers are not workshopped on strategies that enable them to handle mixed classes of learners with different learning abilities. Thus, if the QP learners are to do well in their studies, teachers should be trained on how to teach such learners effectively. It should be revealed that generally, the interviewees' observations here are not consistent with Tomlinson (2001) position that in a class where some learners experience challenges in certain themes, teachers should include activities that cater for that specific group of learners. Tomlinson (2001) believes that in almost every class, there are learners who require special consideration. If schools are to improve the QP learners' performance, they should include activities that cater for their specific needs. Table 5 contains information on the provision of extra lessons to the QP learners. The results in Table 5 show that 27.4% of the respondents always provide extra lessons to the QP learners, while 10.4% said that they never provide such lessons. These low percentages are an indication that even though the majority of the schools know that their QP learners do not perform as expected, they have failed to make any provisions for extra lessons to remediate this problem. The interviewees also admitted that extra classes are helpful in supporting learners who were progressed. However, they argued that there is no timetable designed for the QP learners' extra classes. They pointed out that this depends on individual teachers to make arrangements with their QP learners for extra lessons. Principal A's position here was that, "It is not easy at our school. Teachers refuse to teach in the afternoon. They complain that given that at the Department of Education's Offices, employees there are paid overtime, while the same privilege is not extended to them if they work overtime. We teach all learners during school hours. It is quite difficult to convince teachers otherwise".

Extra lessons for QP Learners
Principal C lamented that giving the QP learners special attention by conducting extra lessons is where they have challenges. He said that they only encourage all learners to do extra classes at identified centres that are funded by the Department of Education.
Principal G had this to say, "We teach both the promoted and progressed learners the same themes in one class during school hours. There is no timetable for the QP learners' extra lessons. But, some teachers teach those who struggle in the mornings before the school starts, and in the afternoons after the prescribed working hours. Others teach progressed learners who struggle to cope with the content in the new grade after school hours only. Teachers usually repeat the content taught in class earlier".
Principal H bemoaned the system of teaching a mixed class of fast and slow learners thus, "Honestly speaking, it is tough to teach a mixed class of QP and promoted learners during normal school hours. At our school, we emphasise on producing good results. As a result, teachers sometimes teach after school hours, even on Saturdays. They arrange with the QP learners to teach selected topics that were poorly done. In this way, teachers give learners individual attention. In turn, such learners are motivated to ask questions on issues they experience difficulties on".
The results in Table 5 and the principals' remarks contrast the findings of the work of Tomlinson (2001) who opines that today's classroom teacher is faced with the challenges of addressing a wide variety of learners' learning abilities. Tomlinson (2001) contends that to effectively manage a wide variety of needs, a teacher needs to identity learners who require additional support and provide extra lessons. If schools, therefore, want the QP learners' performance to improve, they should give them extra lessons.
This shows the teachers' willingness to provide extra lessons to the QP learners. However, the concerns raised by the respondents include, among others, the teachers' lack of skills or strategies to handle mixed classes of learners with different learning abilities, and the lack of incentives for teachers who give extra lessons after normal working hours. The department should provide incentives for teachers who are willing to teach after hours if the QP learners' academic performance is to improve. Table 6 outlines the QP learners' school attendance monitoring frequency. The data in Table 6 reflect that 37% of the respondents always monitor their QP learners' regular school attendance, whereas 6.7% never do so. As such, less than half of the respondents monitor their learners' school attendance. This suggests that the majority of learners may always be absent from school or miss certain subjects without teachers noticing that. Nearly all the principals interviewed agreed that monitoring learner attendance is a policy that must be implemented without fail. However, principals noted that teachers do not monitor the QP learners' regular school attendance. On this issue, principal A expressed his thoughts thus, "We monitor the learners' attendance through marking the daily attendance registers. The attendance registers are marked every morning during the first period, and in the afternoon during the last period. There is no separate attendance register for the QP learners".

Control of QP Learners' Attendance
Meanwhile, principal C confirmed that they use class attendance registers to monitor every learner's attendance trend. He acknowledged that there is no separate register for QP learners. Principal D pointed out that their learners, whether QPs or promoted ones, are monitored through the class attendance register whether they regularly attend school or not. Principal F added that they usually mark the learners' attendance registers every day when the school begins. He said that they pay special attention to the QP learners as they mark the registers because these sometimes absent themselves from school.
The above agrees with the work of Pitre (2010) who indicated that the attendance rate is important because learners are more likely to succeed in their academics when they consistently attend school. The study also revealed that some teachers do not effectively control their learners' attendance. This might negatively affect the QP learners' performance as they get less exposed to the curricula due to their misdemeanours. Table 7 shows that of the teachers' curricula coverage according to pacesetters. Its results show that 73.3% of the respondents always cover the curriculum according to pacesetters. This is a good percentage when compared with the 0.7% of those who never do so. The results indicate that teachers are able to cover the content prescribed for the academic year. The completion of work according to pacesetters gives learners an added advantage when it comes to their examinations. The principals said that if teachers cover the curricula accordingly, it becomes easy for learners to respond to questions in different sections of the subject. This is how the principals responded, starting with principal E, "At the beginning of the year, the SMT members, especially the HODs, sit down with their subject teachers where they go through how pacesetters should be used in line with the curricula. We always monitor to find out whether they are able to cover the curricula as per the pacesetters. So far, they are able to do so".

Curriculum Coverage According to Pacesetters
Principal H pointed out that, "In our school, we monitor curricula delivery according to individual subjects. We also check progress in terms of curricula coverage as per the pacesetters. I have noted that teachers teach as per pacesetters and hence covered the curricula accordingly. Some are ahead of the pacesetters and they do revision with learners. This assist our learners a lot, especially our Grade 12 classes that have the highest number of the QP learners".
The result present in table 7 and the views of the principals on teachers covering the curriculum content are consistent, and in alignment with Fleisch (2016) argument that teachers should teach and cover what is prescribed in the curriculum before learners write the end of year examinations. Curriculum coverage is an integrated tracking tool which focuses on planned activities, activities that have been completed, list of topics not yet done and the planned interventions (Fleisch, 2016). Fleisch (2016) goes on to say that teachers should teach and cover all aspects of the curricula. These results suggest that the majority of teachers are able to cover curricula as per pacesetters. Thus, the learners' performance is likely to improve. Table 8 shows the extent to which teachers are workshopped on delivering content to the QP learners.

Workshops on Content Delivery
The results in Table 8 show that 28.9% of the respondents are always workshopped on how to deliver content to the QP learners, and 24.4% indicated to the contrary. This means that the majority of the teachers might find it difficult to deliver content to the QP learners as they lack knowledge and understanding on how to do so. The interviewees acknowledge that workshops attended by teachers do not specify any category of learners, but are inclusive of all learners. The interviewees complained that the Department of Education wants schools to implement the progression policy, yet it does not play its part on how to teach learners once progressed. The following are remarks made by four principals. Principal A said of the whole issue, "No, there are no workshops organised and conducted by the Department of Education to workshop teachers on how to deliver content to the QP learners. Teachers have to devise some mechanisms on how to deliver content that covers all learners as classes are mixed with promoted and progressed learners".
Principal B was a bit hash in his complaints, arguing that, "The Department of Education just imposes policies on us. There is no direction on how to teach these QP learners to cover content gaps from previous grades as they do not conduct workshops on how to deliver such content to these learners. They do not workshop us on how to handle these QP learners. It is so frustrating".
Principal E also complained about teachers not being workshopped on how to teach the QP learners by the Department of Education, but the progression policy has to be implemented. He continued thus, "We do in-house workshops at school on our own. We do train each other on how to identify where the learners lack in individual subjects, and where teachers should put more effort. What we workshop emanate from item analysis".
Principal J also felt that something must be done in the absence of workshops that should be conducted by the DBE. He concluded thus, "We are not workshopped by our Department of Education, but at school we try to do something, specifically for the QP learners. We guide teachers through different approaches on how to teach these learners as they are slow performers who need assistance".
The above extracts imply that even though the Department of Education indicated that teachers should have knowledge that enable them to teach the grades they have been given, they do not provide workshops to capacitate them on content delivery concerning the QP learners. Responses from the respondents epitomise the need for the DBE to organise and conduct workshops for teachers on how to deliver content to QP learners. The fact that teachers are not workshopped on how to deliver content to such learners shows that it may be difficult to assist them improve their academic performance.

IV. CONCLUSIONS
The study investigated the support strategies made available for progressed learners using 10 selected secondary schools in Vhembe district in Limpopo Province of South Africa. The samples of the study comprised teachers and SMT members from across the selected secondary schools. The data for this study was collected using questionnaire and interviews from teachers and SMT members respectively. Following the analysed data, the study findings showed that while the selected secondary schools are aware of the policy on progressing learners, and try to comply to it, the necessary supports are lacking.
Sequel to the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made: Support mechanisms / strategies should be put in place to assist progressed learners in catching up with their counterparts and getting better academically. This can be done by schools, and the Department of Basic Education (DBE), possibly with the assistance of other relevant education stakeholders. In this regard, the policy of progressing learners becomes worthwhile. This can be done through regular periodic workshops for both the learners and teachers teaching them. While the teachers would be trained on how to assist such progressed learners, the learners would be motivated and taught various learning skills; The needed enhancing teaching and learning facilities are to be made available in schools. In this regard, the trainings provided to teachers can be relevant. This can be done by benchmarking best practices across the globe.