There is a familiar pessimism about the research pipeline in South Africa. This is a story about why I am more optimistic than I was a year ago — and about two young scientists who made me one.

Reflections from an afternoon with KwaZulu-Natal's Life Orientation teachers, and a case for removing the barriers that hold both teachers and learners back.

Some paths part ways only to curve back toward each other. Here's what happened when research and administration reunited over one student's PhD journey.

Every learner has potential; this post asks whether the opportunity in front of them is real — and what teachers can do to open it.

South Africa's mental health picture refuses to sit still inside a single figure. This post looks at three things at once — what the data actually says, where the workplace risk comes from, and why offering support is not the same as making it reachable.

Two of the world's leading burnout scholars — Prof. Wilmar Schaufeli and Prof. Leon de Beer — visit Optentia this September.

Our new book Capabilities at Work asks not what predicts performance, but what people are truly free to be, do, and become. Join us on 23 September to celebrate a research journey that crosses disciplines and centres social justice.

Join leading scholars and practitioners on 23 September 2026 for a hybrid event exploring how the capability approach can advance well-being, decent work and social justice.

Dr Lance Bunt is building the technical infrastructure and visual identity for Optentia's new Qhubekela Phambili Trainer Development course, based on Dr Rachele Paver's methodology. It equips counsellors and teachers to tackle youth unemployment in South Africa.

What began as a search for the world's best cross-cultural psychologist became one of the most meaningful chapters of my academic life — a twenty-five-year story of scholarship, friendship, and the partnerships that make science matter.

Navigating research design is one of the most daunting challenges in any academic journey — but it doesn't have to be.

What does it take for a teacher to truly thrive in one of South Africa's most overlooked roles? The Amathuba Project is building the country's first national evidence base on the sustainable employability of Life Orientation teachers.

The pressure on Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) graduates to justify their degree choice has never been greater — yet the real obstacle to flourishing careers lies far deeper than degree selection.

The Optentia Research Unit has received approval for two new short courses that address two of South Africa’s most urgent challenges.

Cambridge University Press, brings together leading scholars from across the globe to explore how workplaces can be redesigned to build human capability, promote dignity, and advance social justice.

New research reveals that managers who pour compassion into their teams while neglecting themselves pay a hidden price — their own well-being.

South African research reveals that teenagers' academic emotions in mathematics and English are associated with their home environment, their relationships with teachers, the language of instruction, and whether they find the subjects interesting.

When fairness, stability, and inclusive leadership are missing, even the most skilled industrial psychology and human resource practitioners burn out, disengage, and walk out the door. The good news? Organisations have the power to change this.

The Amathuba project is bringing together South Africa's sharpest minds in Life Orientation, psycho-social education, and educational psychology — and today, they gathered at North-West University

Two million learners. One overlooked group of teachers at the heart of it all — and today, we took a major step towards understanding and strengthening what keeps them capable and flourishing.