TUT empowers rural tourism educators through an innovative teacher development programme

For 42 tourism educators from rural schools across Mpumalanga’s Ehlanzeni District, giving up their Saturdays in 2026 meant gaining more than just knowledge – it meant rediscovering their passion for teaching, building confidence and finding new ways to inspire learners.

Tourism educators receiving their Visitor Attraction Passport. Through the TUT Tourism Educator Empowerment (TUTTEE) initiative, the Tshwane University of Technology’s (TUT) Tourism Department, in partnership with local NGO Penreach, equipped teachers with practical skills, fresh teaching approaches and renewed enthusiasm to bring the tourism curriculum to life in their classrooms.

Dr Sam Bouwer approached the NGO with a partnership proposal to deliver workshops for tourism educators in Grades 10 and 12 as part of its existing Teacher Development Workshop.

The partnership would involve Penreach taking responsibility for participant recruitment and registration, and for venue organisation, while the TUT Tourism Department would develop the learning materials and facilitate the workshops.

Educators from rural schools across the Ehlanzeni District of Mpumalanga enrolled and completed the workshop. The workshops were held on Saturdays between March and October.

Each workshop was tailored to a Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement tourism topic in which learner performance was poor or educators did not feel confident or equipped to deliver it effectively.

Participating tourism educators, Buhle Ngcongwane and Gloria Muzhinduki. The purpose of each workshop was to develop the educators’ knowledge of the respective topics and suggest learner-centred activities. Each workshop typically included a series of micro-teaches and participation in learner-centred activities that could be applied to the classrooms. All materials were uploaded to an online platform (managed by Penreach) that could be easily downloaded. These included PowerPoint presentations, participant training manuals, and instructions/templates for practical activities. Participants were also signposted to digital resources to support their continuing professional development.

The workshop was well received, with participating teachers reporting valuable insights into each topic, which ultimately increased their confidence in delivering the curriculum.

“It was wonderful to see the commitment of these tourism educators, who had given up their weekends to enhance their knowledge and skills. It was particularly heartwarming to learn that many were implementing the learner-centred activities that they had been exposed to throughout the programme, reporting a positive engagement by their learners,” said Dr Bouwer.

Several participants reported feeling more inspired to teach the subject and to change their teaching methods to promote learner engagement.

“The programme was very insightful and helped broaden my existing knowledge on the subject. I also got to see how fun teaching the subject could be. I am so glad that I got to be a part of it,” said Buhle Ngcongwane, from Guduza Secondary School.

At the September workshop, in celebration of Tourism Month, each teacher was presented with a Visitor Attraction Pass, providing free entry to several local visitor attractions through in-kind donations. This was another opportunity for teachers to gain direct exposure to the tourism industry.

“The TUTTEE initiative not only helps the department to achieve its community engagement targets, but it also helps to forge relationships with our feeder schools. Tourism teachers who are inspired and equipped to teach tourism effectively can result in learners who are inspired to study tourism further,” said Academic Manager, Dr Simiso Mabaso.

The participating teachers will receive their Certificates of Attendance at the forthcoming Penreach Awards Ceremony on 28 November 2026. In addition, those who attended all seven workshops will also be awarded CPD points by the South African Council for Educators.

It is anticipated that the programme will be replicated in 2027 for a new cohort of tourism educators.