A roadblock to social justice? An analysis and critique of the South African education Roadmap

The article provides an analysis and critique of contemporary debates concerning the quality of education in South Africa from a social justice perspective. In particular the article focuses on the Education Roadmap which has gained support from a range of stakeholders in South Africa including key members of the newly elected government. The Education Roadmap is considered in relation to dominant approaches to understanding education quality within the education literature, namely the human capital and human rights based approaches. It is argued that the Roadmap shares characteristics of both approaches although it is particularly influenced by the former. The article sets out an alternative approach based on social justice principle that, whilst developing and extending aspects of dominant approaches, is considered pertinent because it articulates with historical struggles around education in South Africa. It is suggested that although the Roadmap demonstrates limited characteristics of a social justice approach, it falls short in other key aspects and it is these aspects that must form the basis for ongoing struggles for a more equitable education system.     

Empathetic-Reflective-Dialogical Restorying for decolonisation: an emancipatory teaching-learning strategy for Religion Education

ABSTRACT

This article argues for the inclusion of Empathetic-Reflective-Dialogical Restorying as a teaching-learning strategy for Religion Education. This strategy, employed in three small-scale research projects in a South African Higher Education Institution, addresses decolonisation of the Religion Education curriculum in the following ways: changing how teaching-learning takes place; transdisciplinary engagement; empowering students as agents of their own learning; depatriarchisation; and dispelling the myth of African inferiority. Both self-dialogue and self-narrative were used to create open space stories when approaching content that is relevant to the lived experience of gender (in)equality and patriarchy. Engaging in a safe space in Communities in Conversation, Communities in Dialogue, and Communities for Transformation, students troubled entrenched beliefs and worldviews and co-constructed (restoried) understandings. They expressed the view that this emancipatory teaching-learning strategy has the potential to facilitate classroom praxis that is both reflective and reflexive. This can be transformative for the greater society.     

Invisible Statues of Colonisation: Regulatory Curriculum Requirements in South African Higher Education

Abstract

Over the past 20 years, the South African higher education (HE) system has become increasingly regularised. All programmes offered at South African public universities have to be registered and accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET); the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) under the auspices of the Council on Higher Education (CHE); as well as the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). Such accreditation, registration and quality assurance is subject to a growing series of stringent regulatory frameworks that must be adhered to, chief amongst which are the Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework (HEQSF) and the Classification of Educational Subject Matter (CESM) manual and the later Addendum. Increased calls from both students and government for curriculum transformation and the decolonisation of HE require a critical review of the regulatory regime as one of the barriers to curriculum transformation at South African universities. The aim of this article is to present a conceptual analysis of the CESM and its regulatory context within a decolonial framework in order to show that the regulatory requirements for curricula have created a rigid and colonised conception of what universities may and may not teach. The CESM categories and their concomitant requirements have become the so-called invisible statues of colonisation based on narrow and morally decadent Western conceptions of academic disciplines in current university curricula.     

(De)coloniality and South African academe

ABSTRACT

The colonial nature of South African universities remains a source of debate among students and academics. Decolonization as rethinking academic institutional practices seems less controversial; the specificity of how to decolonize the academia is the core of divergent arguments and contesting ideologies. Consequently, many suggestions and methods for the decolonization of South African universities have been proffered. Although some of these suggestions are pertinent, a critical question about what should South African academe decolonize from needs to be engaged. This requires a critical, theoretical and intellectual discourse of coloniality in order to rethink the academia in South Africa. Drawing from Anibal Quijano’s critical discourse of coloniality of power, this paper (re)visits the nature of coloniality, explores approaches to decolonization and situates these understandings to the academia in postcolonial South Africa. A polycentric approach to decolonization is supported with a goal of decolonization as innovations.     

Religion Education teaching in Zimbabwe secondary schools: the search for an authentic values-oriented multi-faith Religion Education pedagogical model

Religion Education teaching in post-independence Zimbabwe has remained bible-oriented and confessional at a time when most Religion Education stakeholders expect an ‘open’, plural and authentic multi-faith Religion Education curriculum. Despite curriculum innovation initiatives aimed at introducing new approaches such as experiential learning, Religion Education stakeholders in Zimbabwe argue for an objective and plural approach that will address the expectations of a post-independence multi-faith society. To contribute to this discourse on the new authentic multi-faith Religion Education curriculum, an empirical study was conducted on a proposed values-oriented multi-faith curriculum. The data obtained showed that most Religion Education stakeholders prefer an authentic values-oriented multi-faith model that would contribute to the teaching of values such as citizenship, human rights, ubuntu/unhu, nationhood, etc. A values-oriented multi-faith approach is, therefore, proposed for possible implementation in Zimbabwe secondary schools.     

Important aspects of biodiversity conservation and sustainable development for Environmental Education programmes

Abstract

The discussion in this article is based on the premise that there is a need to include specialised knowledge about the environment and its resources into Environmental Education programmes in South Africa. The investigation is thus focused on the so-called species approach to sustain biodiversity. In this regard the conservation status of a number of threatened plants, mammals, birds and butterflies are surveyed. The aim of the survey is to illustrate which category of species could be considered for inclusion in Environmental Education research and programmes in South Africa. Sustainable development and the benefits of biodiversity conservation are discussed, inter alia, poverty alleviation through job creation, game-ranching and eco-tourism. The research is concluded with recommendations for Environmental Education programmes, educators and learners.     

A posthumanist approach to environmental education in South Africa: implications for teachers,teacher development,and teacher training programs

As we enter the sixth great mass extinction event, an event that points to humanity’s exploitative attitude towards nature, posthumanist ethics offers a different way of engaging with the world, a way which has clear and extensive implications for the way environmental education is taught in South African schools. However, given the official curriculum and assessment practices currently in use in South Africa, can a posthumanist approach to environmental education actually work within the current educational framework of discrete discipline/subject areas and specializations? The paper diffractively engages with the Department of Basic Education National Curriculum Statement: Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement: Foundation Phase Grades R-3: Life Skills for South Africa (the phase where environmental education is most likely to take place), and superpositions this text with a research study on environmental education undertaken in Canada and key posthumanist notions as they relate to environmental education. The paper concludes with a section on the implications for teachers, teacher development, and teacher training programs (not solely in South Africa) of using such an approach in the teaching of environmental studies.     

History of education at the University of South Africa (UNISA): 1961 – present

Abstract

Since 1961, History of Education at the University of South Africa (Unisa) has been part of a host of debates, paradigm shifts and transformative developments within higher education, at national level and even internationally affecting where the discipline was housed, by whom it was presented and the nature of its content. This article aims to trace these historical developments in History of Education at Unisa in an attempt to understand these developments within their contextual nature in order to come to some understanding as to its future.     

Promoting sustainable development through whole school approaches: an international,intercultural teacher education research and development project

This paper focuses on a British Council funded Higher Education Link project involving three institutions—Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) in the UK and two South African institutions, the University of South Africa (UNISA) and Rhodes University. The link is a research and development project that has three main research strands: contextual profiling that will establish the applicability of a European teacher education project to the South African context, evaluative materials development and piloting predicated on a respect for indigenous and contextual knowledge, and impact analysis that will examine the role of multidirectional intergenerational mentoring in disseminating messages about sustainable lifestyles. The project is strongly influenced by the South African Revised National Curriculum statements pertaining to environment and an analysis of the impact that these materials have had on promoting whole school approaches to environmental education in South Africa. The link's initial purpose is to develop advanced certificate in education (ACE) course materials that will promote whole school approaches to environmental education, based on developing concepts of collaboration, pupil participation, educational process and action in schools in South Africa. Materials from the MMU‐based, European Commission funded Sustainability Education in European Primary Schools (SEEPS) Project will be adapted for use in South Africa by UNISA and Rhodes.

This paper reports on the development of the project and explores some of its activities and results to date. It documents how the project team approached the integrating redevelopment of SEEPS ideas and materials to use these resources in the design of continuing professional development (CPD) activities for ACE courses in environmental education at UNISA and Rhodes. The second section is written in semi‐dialogue form to try to reflect the nature of the discussions that occurred between the partners in the link during meetings in the UK. This dialogue outlines the conceptual and philosophical background to the SEEPS Project before examining continuities and tensions that arose in clarifying and situating guiding perspectives for CPD and whole school approaches in and for South African school contexts through the medium of teacher education. The paper also reviews how the South African team are interacting with ideas and materials from SEEPS to clarify whole school approaches to environmental education in South Africa and discusses the contexts within which the outcomes of the link will unfold.     

Teaching and learning through multiple intelligences in the outcomes-based education classroom

Abstract

As outcomes-based education forms the foundation of the new school curriculum in South Africa, educators are confronted with the challenge of not only meeting the different needs of individual learners, but also of helping learners (many of them previously disadvantaged) to achieve their maximum potential. One way of realising this ideal is by applying Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences in the classroom. The article provides a discussion on both Gardner's multiple intelligences theory and outcomes-based education in South Africa, as it is believed that together they can contribute to solving some of the present problems in South African education. The article defines the use of MI theory in an OBE classroom and suggests specific ways in which educators worldwide could incorporate the different intelligences in their teaching and learning activities.     

Beliefs and attitudes about assessment of a sample of student teachers in South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to take the first steps in a long-term approach to helping South African teachers understand and respond to government demands that they change their assessment practices. Specifically, it attempted to identify the beliefs, perceptions and attitudes about assessment that student teachers bring with them to courses that are designed to equip them to teach in ways that are consistent with current curriculum trends in South Africa. The study attempted to answer the following research questions: are student teachers’ beliefs about assessment consistent with the approaches to assessment advocated in the South African Revised National Curriculum Statement? Are student teachers’ beliefs about assessment consistent with the basic principles of outcomes-based education? The results indicated broad general agreement between student teachers’ beliefs about assessment and the principles of assessment espoused in the Revised National Curriculum Statement. However, there was evidence that the beliefs of some of the subjects were inconsistent with these principles.     

Ideological alchemy: the transmutation of South African didactics (and fundamental pedagogics) into ‘apartheid education’

In his response to Krüger, Le Grange claims that: (1) the South African discourse of fundamental pedagogics was closely allied with Christian National Education and functioned as a powerful educational doctrine in the service of the South African policy of apartheid education; (2) fundamental pedagogics bracketed political discourse; (3) the connection between fundamental pedagogics and Christianity promoted an authoritarian approach to education; and (4) because didactic pedagogics and fundamental pedagogics were so intimately intertwined, South African didactic thinking also was used to serve and perpetuate the policy of apartheid education. This paper evaluates these claims and concludes that they are untenable in light of the history, nature, and purpose of South African fundamental and didactic pedagogical thinking. In his effort to link fundamental and didactic pedagogical thinking to apartheid education, Le Grange has lost sight of the profound influence of the tradition of European (Dutch/German) Didaktik on didactic thought in South Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.     

Reforming the Racial Curriculum: curriculum change in desegregated schools in South Africa

This article analyses curriculum changes that have accompanied the reform movement to desegregate private and religious schools in South Africa. In a context of racially segregated State schooling, the 'open' schools have admitted students of all races to what were previously white schools. An examination of the curriculum practices of these schools reveals different patterns in terms of the extent to which schools have modified their practices to acknowledge their black enrolments, and their different approaches to the political crisis in South Africa. The article suggests that the assimilationist practices of most of the open schools illustrate their limits as a reform movement; but it suggests also that they are the only schooling venture during this period that has engaged with issues of desegregation in South Africa in a sustained way.     

Teaching mathematics that addresses learners’ multiple intelligences

Abstract

To meet the demands of our highly technological and globally competitive society, it is becoming increasingly important for all learners in South Africa to obtain skills and knowledge in mathematics. However, South Africa performed the worst of all the countries who participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS). Education in South Africa is now confronted with the dilemma of how to improve the mathematics performance of learners. One way of dealing with this dilemma is to apply Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences in the classroom. This intervention should contribute positively to the South African Government's Foundation for Learning Campaign. This article suggests specific ways in which teachers can incorporate the different intelligences in their teaching and learning activities in the mathematics classroom. Recommendations are made for the application of the Multiple Intelligences Theory in the mathematics classroom, and topics for future research are suggested.     

A time of destiny for Norwegian mission schools in Zululand and Natal under the policy of Bantu Education (1948–1955)

ABSTRACT

When the purified National Party (NP) came to power in South Africa in 1948, they introduced educational policies based on the ideology of apartheid. At that time 7,183 pupils attended primary education in 110 Lutheran Norwegian mission schools in Zululand and Natal. When the State took over these schools after the passing of the Bantu Education Act of 1953, the number had increased to 10,415. Together with other Lutheran missions, the Norwegians participated in running a teacher training college and a High School. For over a century before this, educational work had been a fundamental instrument in assisting mission work. Against this background, the paper attempts to answer two questions: How did the Norwegian missionaries relate to the policy of Bantu Education? Was the experience of the Norwegians attempting to carry out their educational work under this racial segregation legislation similar to that of other mission organisations at the time?     

Early Islam in British Higher Education

Abstract

In an educational environment where interest in Arabic and Islam is growing, I ask the place of revisionist/critical approaches to early Islam in Higher Education. This paper uses 15 semi-structured interviews with Lecturers in early Islam to investigate how they treat controversial subject matter in the classroom. The paper examines how the different approaches taken by lecturers are linked to different kinds of academic training, and asks what kinds of approach are suited to different student demographics. It concludes by suggesting how critical ways of teaching this subject are linked to new approaches in interfaith engagement, which acknowledge the political context for the development of Scriptures.     

HIV/AIDS and Education: a study on how a selection of school governing bodies in Mpumalanga understand,respond to and implement legislation and policies on HIV/AIDS

Very little research has been done in South Africa on HIV/AIDS and education. This article is a small attempt to plug the gap. The purpose of the research is to investigate the legal and policy provisions and implications regarding HIV/AIDS for rural and township schools in the Mpumalanga district of South Africa. It seeks to answer three questions: (1) What is the status of policy and legislation on HIV/AIDS and Education in South Africa? (2) How do schools understand, respond to and manage issues of law and policy regarding HIV/AIDS? (3) What are the possible areas of conflict between legal and policy provisions and educational practices and behaviours? After examining the different laws relating to HIV/AIDS and education in South Africa a case study approach is used to explore the research questions in a number of rural and township schools. The findings highlighted a general ignorance of basic human rights issues, the right to confidentiality, the right to security from discrimination if it is known that a teacher or a pupil is HIV positive, the right to privacy and the right, under certain circumstances, to disclosure. The findings also reveal a distance between policy and practice so that schools need to develop vigilance with respect to any legal challenges that they might face at a local level. The findings also show that governing bodies should be made aware of the general legal issues surrounding the individual and HIV/AIDS before they can introduce fair and balanced policies.     

Tobephobia experienced by teachers in secondary schools: An exploratory study focusing on curriculum reform in the Nelson Mandela Metropole

Abstract

Because of its history from apartheid to democracy, the aspiration to reform schools is a recurrent theme in South African education. Efforts to reform education in schools based on the outcomes-based education (OBE) curriculum approach created major challenges for policy makers in South Africa. The purpose of this exploratory research was therefore to determine whether secondary school teachers lack the professional competence to cope with curriculum reform and whether this incompetence results in them experiencing Tobephobia (TBP). The qualitative research method was used to conduct this investigation. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 teachers in 25 public secondary schools in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. In terms of their responses, it was evident that the teachers’ concerns about their professional competencies associated with the OBE curriculum had a negative impact on their ability to implement curriculum changes in their classrooms. The comparison of OBE with the syllabus by the teachers evoked their bias towards the traditional syllabus approach in maintaining the quality of education for all learners. Because of the historical bag gage associated with the syllabus in South Africa, it is recommended that a standards approach to the curriculum be considered by the Department of Education to resolve the curriculum problems in secondary schools. The responses from the teachers in this exploratory study once again affirmed the existence of TBP in secondary schools.     

Exploring relationships between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension amongst English second language readers in South Africa

Most analyses of oral reading fluency (ORF) are based on L1 reading, and the norms that have been developed in English are based on first language reading data. This is problematic for developing countries where many children are learning in English as a second language. The aim of the present study is to model the relationship between English reading fluency and comprehension among rural English-second-language learners (ESL) in South Africa. We use data collected in 2013 by the National Education and Evaluation Development Unit in South Africa. This survey tested 4697 Grade 5 students from 214 schools across rural areas in South Africa. A sub-sample—1772 students—were selected for an ORF test. For these students there exist data on both reading comprehension and reading fluency. Although a number of studies have analyzed the relationship between fluency and comprehension, none have been conducted on a large-scale for ESL learners in a developing country such as South Africa. The present research contributes to the literature by analysing the size, significance and uniformity of this relationship for ESL learners in South Africa. Preliminary findings indicate a threshold at 70 words-read-correct-per-minute which is lower than the typically used threshold of 90 words-read-correct-per-minute of English first language readers.