Professor Malatji brings a wealth of academic experience, with specialisations in Teacher Education and Development, Collaboration in Education, and Quality Management in Education. His work focuses on creating more effective and sustainable learning environments within teacher education programmes.
He is an active researcher in the fields of education and pedagogy, contributing regularly through publications and conference presentations. His recent study, titled Exploring the Effects of Rotational Models on the Implementation of the Progression Policy with a View to Providing Curriculum Support, concluded that professional development for teachers is vital for providing relevant curriculum support to learners.
“We propose the need to rethink and reimagine the implementation of the progression policy during and after the pandemic to reshape it in ways that address the learner articulation gap,” he said of the study.
Another 2025 study, Teachers’ Strategies for Curriculum Support on Learner Progression Policy: Implications for Inclusive Practices in South African Secondary Schools, investigates how teachers support learner progression through curriculum strategies that promote accessible, quality education.
The study adopts Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a theoretical framework – an approach that promotes inclusivity by responding to the diverse needs of learners through adaptable educational methods.
Professor Malatji began his career as an educator at Kgalaka Primary School. He later joined the University of Fort Hare as a Teaching and Learning Consultant (December 2013 – December 2014), and gained experience in both the TVET and Higher Education sectors.
He went on to serve as an Academic Development Practitioner at the University of Venda until June 2016, then took up the position of Senior Academic Development Practitioner at the University of Limpopo from July 2016 to February 2018. From March 2018 to December 2021, he served as Senior Lecturer at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), before becoming Acting Director for the School of Education at the same institution from January 2022 to May 2023.
Before joining UMP, Professor Malatji was an Associate Professor at UNISA, serving from June 2023 to March 2025.
He holds the following academic qualifications:
- PhD in Education (University of Fort Hare)
- MEd in Curriculum and Instructional Studies (University of Limpopo)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education for Academic Developers (Rhodes University)
- BEd Honours and BEd Senior Phase and FET (University of Limpopo)
Among his academic achievements, Professor Malatji was named Resourceful Researcher of the Year and Overall Researcher of the Year at TUT in 2022. He was awarded Emerging Researcher of the Year by the Education Association of South Africa in 2020, and Young Researcher of the Year at TUT in 2018.
He has supervised 19 PhD candidates and 23 Master’s students to completion, and has hosted four postdoctoral fellows. He is the author of the book Inclusion, Learner Support and Assistive Technology, and co-authored a chapter titled Models Underpinning Inclusive Education (Malatji and Malatji).
Story by Lisa Thabethe. Picture supplied.