Demonstrating a steadfast commitment to lifelong learning and academic rigour, a seasoned South African academic received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Education – Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA) at the spring graduation ceremony on 5 October 2026.
Supervised by UNISA’s Professor Tebogo Mogashoa, Professor Mncedisi Maphalala’s doctoral research titled “Fostering Self-Directed Learning in an Open, Distance & e-Learning (ODeL) Environment in South Africa” addresses the core challenges faced by modern distance learners. The achievement comes exactly 20 years after Professor Maphalala earned a Doctor of Education (D.Ed) from the University of Zululand in 2006. Professor Maphalala said that rather than seeking career progression, the return to doctoral study was a deliberate strategy to build a focused body of research in Self-Directed Learning (SDL) and advance contributions to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).
Reflecting on the study’s motivation, Professor Maphalala noted that while Open, Distance, and e-Learning (ODeL) environments provide students with critical flexibility, they also demand a high degree of independence, self-reliance, and accountability, qualities many students struggle to balance. The thesis explores how higher education institutions can design learning environments that cultivate autonomous, highly engaged, and resilient students.
Having navigated the second doctorate as an experienced academic and postgraduate supervisor, Professor Maphalala highlighted the journey’s distinct nature: working at an independent pace, engaging with critical literature without first-time doctoral pressures, and experiencing scholarship through a renewed lens.
The milestone shows that education remains an ongoing journey, reminding the broader academic community that researchers and educators are lifelong students committed to questioning assumptions and exploring new methodologies.