In this article, we report on three recent research studies conducted in Eastern Cape school settings, to motivate for changes that are possible within the system to better meet learners' needs. Beginning with a recognition of the diverse and extensive needs of learners in this challenging and very inequitable context, we describe systemic challenges. Although the studies each had different emphases in different phases of education, we drew from aspects of the bioecological systems model based on the constructivist paradigm. Using interventionist and qualitative methods in each study, we worked collaboratively alongside educators, parents, and district officials to explore possibilities for changes in practice. In the first study, we highlight the challenges in the system for learners with special educational needs, from the perspectives of different stakeholders, illustrated in a complex eco-systemic diagram. This is followed by two action research-based case studies: a parent - practitioner partnership trialled in an Early Childhood Development centre to promote parental involvement and communication with educators; and one that illustrates a collaborative intervention with educators in the Further Education and Training phase, focused on career education in Life Orientation. Each of the projects demonstrates the need for interactions between people in the educational system, given the difficulties faced by individual practitioners at systemic levels. Two case studies provide examples that link adults in the systems (parents with educators and educators from different schools). The common emergent themes evidence the potential for beneficial changes through partnership working, building on people's combined knowledge of local contexts and circumstances, and using bottom-up collaboration.