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In the South African higher education sector, there is increasing concern about the poor retention and throughput rates of undergraduate students. There is also concern that the participation rates in higher education, relative to population demographics, remain extremely racially skewed. With the quality of schooling unlikely to change dramatically in the short term, universities need to look for ways to improve student success, particularly in science and engineering, where graduates are needed for a range of key roles in society. Here we review the research presented at a forum held by the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2010, which sought to bring together the latest expert thinking in this area. The major focus of academic development to date has been the establishment of extended degree programmes. However, it is clear that this model has limited capacity to deal with what is, in fact, a much broader problem. We summarise existing interventions aimed at reducing the 'gap' between secondary and tertiary education, and describe key innovations in mainstream programmes that are possible at the levels of pedagogy, curriculum and institutional environment, some of which are also becoming established internationally in science and engineering. Driving such initiatives will demand visionary university leadership in order to effect the integrated and holistic change that is needed.

This systematic review investigated the literature between 1990—2021 to identify trends regarding science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) scientists conducting K-12 outreach. The review identified 50 publications that reflected the scholarship on scientist-led K-12 outreach. This includes literature on the effective strategies regarding scientists’ outreach efforts and how scientist-teacher partnerships could be improved for more meaningful and impactful K-12 outreach. In addition to best practice recommendations, this review revealed patterns in outreach participants and barriers to effective scientist-teacher partnerships. The results of this study suggest that there is a need for more rigorous and published scholarship on scientist-led K-12 outreach so that scientists and K-12 stakeholders can better understand the best practices and barriers related to outreach. Additionally, the review calls for better integration of the perspectives of educators into educational outreach activities from the onset of outreach. These strategies may lead to more valuable scientist-led K-12 outreach programs that more effectively broaden participation in STEM, a major goal of broader impact activities.

One way to expand the time spent teaching science in elementary grades and teacher access to science resources is through partnerships with local universities. This article examines one collaboration that aimed to help students “Think Like a Scientist and an Engineer” using aquaponics. This self-sustainable garden combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in water). The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model was used to introduce the aquaponics project. This article first discusses the University-School partnership, highlighting the project logistics, successes, challenges, and lessons learned, and follows up with recommendations for future STEM teaching projects.

In the South African higher education sector, there is increasing concern about the poor retention and throughput rates of undergraduate students. There is also concern that the participation rates in higher education, relative to population demographics, remain extremely racially skewed. With the quality of schooling unlikely to change dramatically in the short term, universities need to look for ways to improve student success, particularly in science and engineering, where graduates are needed for a range of key roles in society. Here we review the research presented at a forum held by the Academy of Science of South Africa in 2010, which sought to bring together the latest expert thinking in this area. The major focusof academic development to date has been the establishment of extended degree programmes. However, it is clear that this model has limited capacity to deal with what is, in fact, a much broader problem. We summarise existing interventions aimed at reducing the 'gap' between secondary and tertiary education, and describe key innovations in mainstream programmes that are possible at the levels of pedagogy, curriculum and institutional environment, some of which are also becoming established internationally in science and engineering. Driving such initiatives will demand visionary university leadership in order to effect the integrated and holistic change that is needed.