The Politics of Improving Learning in South Africa 14 September 2023 -14 September 2023 @ 14:15 - 15:45Professor Martin Gustafsson, together with Dr Nick Taylor (JET Education Services), have been investigating the political economy and ideology of South Africa’s educational development, paying special attention to the acquisition of foundational skills in the early grades. The study forms part of the international Research in Improving Systems of Education (RISE) programme, a comparative meta-study aimed at presenting new global insights into the political economy of schooling. This focuses on understanding why foundational skills among learners are so low in developing countries, and how this problem can be resolved.