Mzoli Mncanca is a lecturer in the Department of Early Childhood Education at the University of South Africa (Unisa). He has recently completed a PhD in sociology of early childhood education at the University of Johannesburg. His teaching roles focus on initial teacher training for early childhood education and the foundation phase. His current scholarship interrogates the influence of fathers/father figures and male teachers on the socio-educational development of young children. Before joining Unisa, he coordinated national projects on learner welfare and community participation in education at the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT).