Focus Areas
The Zenex Foundation has three core focus areas through which it carries out work :
Northern Cape Literacy Scale-up Project
In the quest to find solutions to early-grade literacy challenges, in the past decade the Zenex Foundation has developed and supported five early-grade projects (pilot projects, large-scale proof of concept projects and a few systemic initiatives).
Grade 4 Mathematics Backlogs Project
It is widely known that a large proportion of learners in South Africa perform several grades below their required grade competencies. Research points to learning backlogs starting early in the Foundation Phase.
Teachers and Parents Communication and Support Systems under COVID-19
Introduction School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic had serious ramifications for education in South Africa. Unlike better-off and well-resourced schools that were able to transition to some form of home-based schooling with teacher interaction, learners at...
National Reading Culture Barometer
National Reading Culture Barometer Project Introduction Most literacy interventions focus on school-based efforts to improve teaching and learning. However, we also need to understand and improve the ecosystem of literacy in homes and communities. Parents and...
Foundation Phase Curriculum Recovery Project
Foundation Phase Curriculum Recovery Project Introduction The Foundation Phase Curriculum Recovery Project was designed during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when schools were still operating under rotational learning. The project aimed to improve...
Teacher Internship Collaboration South Africa
Teacher Internship Collaboration South Africa (TICZA) Introduction This project supports the second phase of the Teacher Internship Collaboration aimed at improving teaching practice for student-teachers. Prior the initiative, the internship space was fragmented with...
Foundation Phase Teacher Assistants Project
Foundation Phase Teacher Assistants Project Introduction Schools in South Africa have faced intermittent disruptions since March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown restrictions. These disruptions have resulted in a significant number of...
NECT Early Grade Learning Programme Evaluation
NECT Early Grade Learning Programme Evaluation .NECT Early Grade Learning Programme Evaluation - view document
Ulwazi Lwethu (UL) African Languages Reading Materials Project
Introduction Literacy development in South Africa is severely hampered by several factors including ineffective teaching in and of African home languages, the severe shortage of African language story books and a poor reading culture. This effectively results in too...
Numeracy in the Foundation Phase: Base-10 Mathematics Project
Introduction A foundational understanding of how numbers are decomposed and reconfigured to make equivalent combinations is essential for learners to grasp algebra in later grades. This includes understanding the properties of zero, and the identity, associative, and...