NRF 25 years: Ndamulelo Madima

This year, the NRF is celebrating a major milestone in our history as we commemorate 25 years of Research, Innovation, Impact and Partnerships. It always gives us great joy to share the accomplishments and impact of the many students and researchers we have supported during various stages of their careers. We thank all participants for submitting their stories and hope you enjoy reading about their journey with the NRF.

Mr Ndamulelo Madima is an Educator at Ulando Combined School under the Limpopo Department of Education. He received NRF funding for his Honours studies.

How did your journey start?

Growing up, I was unsure of my future career choice, although I was passionate about learning. As the years passed, I grew fond of my history teacher who positively impacted my journey of becoming a teacher. I was from a disadvantaged family, and he took me in to live in his house during my examinations so I could study in a conducive environment. His love and care for his pupils drew my heart closer to the profession of teaching because I wanted to change lives as he did mine.

I took a gap year after my matric because I had not applied at any institution for the preceding year, even though I had passed with exceptional marks. I later relocated to Gauteng from Limpopo and managed to apply for a Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) degree at the University of Pretoria (UP) which I completed between 2018 and 2021. The following year, I furthered a B. Ed Honours degree at the same institution, funded by the NRF.

Towards the end of 2022, I got a permanent job as an educator at Ulando Combined School, in Bela-Bela, Limpopo.

How has your affiliation with the NRF impacted your studies/career?

I was funded by the NRF for my full-time studies in Bachelor of Education Honours (Curriculum Studies) at UP in 2022. This opportunity laid a strong foundation for my long-term goal of becoming a lecturer and later a university professor.  

The NRF granted me a way of furthering my studies and becoming a scholar and a researcher. Completing my Honours degree without funding challenges was the greatest feeling and I will always be grateful to NRF for the opportunity. I completed the degree with an average of 72% which granted me a way through into the best university in the country because I studied having peace of mind knowing that my study finances were covered.

What is your area of expertise?

I am working as a full-time educator teaching English and Mathematical literacy (Grade 10 to 12). I am also a part-time Master of Education student at the University of Witwatersrand, due to be completed by June 2025.

My current research is focused on the concepts of classroom management and corporal punishment, and it is entitled Effective Classroom Management: Tools, methods, and techniques of discipline in today’s post-corporal punishment classrooms.

Why is your work/studies important?

My current research study is crucial within the South African landscape, focusing on alternative discipline modalities to corporal punishment. Classroom ill-discipline is controversial in today’s educational context. The abolition of corporal punishment increased violence in schools because pupils are used to the idea of not facing consequences for their ill behaviours, therefore they become disrespectful towards their teachers.

Most teachers have little to no knowledge of the techniques they may use in place of corporal punishment to instil discipline in the classroom. Alternative strategies to corporal punishment need to be explored and understood by all teachers to minimise violence in schools, which has previously led to fatal cases.

The findings of my current research study have the potential to provide insights into ways that the education system can respond to classroom management. It will furthermore provide educators with knowledge and understanding of effective classroom management models that promote healthy and productive teaching and learning.

What are some of your proudest academic achievements?

I completed my Honours Degree with an average of 73% and I could not be prouder of myself.

One of my biggest and proudest moments was obtaining a 100% pass rate as a Grade 12 English First Additional Language teacher, and I was awarded by the Bela-Bela Municipality for being the best English teacher in the circuit. The University of Pretoria wrote an article about it, entitled “Recent UP graduate hits the ground running with educator award.”

The rights to this article (content and images) are reserved by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. This work is licenced under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED) license: this implies that the article may be republished (shared) on other websites, but the article may not be altered or built upon in any way. Credit must be given to the National Research Foundation and a link provided back to the original article.