Staff Members
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Associate Professor and Incoming Head of Department (from 1 April 2026)
Name: Kathija Yassim
Location: B Ring 419 Auckland Park Kingsway Campus
DELM Staff, Department of Education Leadership and Management, Faculty of Education听 Staff Members
Contact Details:
Email:听kyassim@uj.ac.za
About Prof Kathija Yassim
Prof. Kathija Yassim is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the 东京热 and an internationally recognised leader in sustainability鈥慸riven educational leadership. With over two decades of experience across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Global North, her work sits at the intersection of global engagement, green pedagogy, and future鈥慺it leadership development. She leads the Global Green Pedagogy Community of Practice and serves as UNESCO SUCN lead for sustainability consciousness in higher education. Prof. Yassim has spearheaded high鈥慽mpact international collaborations and COIL initiatives with universities across Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia, and has secured and led major funded projects in sustainability, AI鈥慹nabled leadership, and digital innovation. A sought鈥慳fter keynote speaker and public intellectual, she contributes actively to global policy, scholarship and media debates on education for sustainable futures, inclusive leadership, and Africa鈥慶entred internationalisation.
Research Interests
Leading Education for Sustainable Futures specifically in the African and Global South context, with an emphasis on sustainability consciousness and SDG鈥慳ligned praxis of leadership.
Green Pedagogy and Curriculum Innovation in higher education and TVET, Collaborative International Online Learning (COIL)
Future鈥慒it Educational Leadership, including ethical, inclusive, and AI鈥慹nabled leadership development
Humanising and Decolonising Pedagogies, using participatory, narrative, self-study and arts鈥慴ased methodologies
Research Profiles
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Areas of expertise for media commentary
Artificial Intelligence in Education and Leadership 鈥� implications of AI for teaching, assessment, decision鈥憁aking, ethics, and the future role of human leadership.
Education System Reform and School Performance 鈥� interpreting matric results, systemic inequality, school culture, leadership accountability, and post鈥慍ovid recovery
Future Skills, Youth Unemployment, and Education Pathways 鈥� TVET, alternative pathways beyond matric, employability, and preparing young people for a volatile labour market
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) 鈥� climate education, food security, green skills, and sustainability integration in schools and universities
Decolonising and Humanising Education 鈥� curriculum relevance, African knowledge systems, learner and teacher well鈥慴eing, and equity in education reform
Digital Transformation and Online Learning 鈥� online, blended and COIL learning models, access, quality, and global collaboration
Teacher and School Leader Well鈥慴eing 鈥� burnout, mental health, leadership under pressure, and rebuilding trust in education systems