Education rights,education policies and inequality in South Africa

In this article we explore education policy changes in South Africa through a rights-based framework. We situate our analysis in the context of deepening poverty and inequality arguing that progress (or the lack thereof) in schools cannot be divorced from poverty and its consequences. We show that education reform in South Africa has been situated within a policy frame that results in a tension between cost recovery and redressing historical backlogs. We argue that the introduction of user fees and the burden of other costs have rendered abstract the idea of education as a ‘right’. The definition of rights is extended to include the quality of education and educational opportunities. We question the constitutional and legislative romanticism surrounding a rights-based discourse and encourage a re-conceptualisation of human rights in education. Finally, we examine the resurgence of education social movements in relation to democratisation, educational transformation and human rights in South Africa.     

Building citizenship in fragmented societies: The challenges of deracialising and integrating schools in post-Apartheid South Africa

Soon after the collapse of Apartheid, the new government in South Africa set about restructuring the educational system, which was previously segregated by race, class and language. This paper argues that the deracialisation and integration of schools in South Africa has been difficult to achieve and as a process, uneven in different parts of the country and in types of schools.     

Environmental education in southern Africa: a case study of a secondary school in the Okavango Delta of Botswana

This study explored the extent to which teachers integrate environmental education and local environmental knowledge into the curriculum of a secondary school in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. In doing so, the study explored the potential value of place-based education in redressing concerns brought to light in postcolonial critiques of education in southern Africa. The study found that teachers sought to integrate environmental education into the curriculum through lessons that included references to local place names and local flora and fauna, lessons addressing issues related to environmental resource management in the region, and the acknowledgment and celebration of traditional lifestyle activities in the schools. The study also found that efforts to integrate environmental education into the curriculum were limited by a lack of educational resources needed to support these endeavors as well as a lack of adequate teacher training promoting this educational goal. The results also illustrate the potential value of place-based education in redressing the legacy of southern Africa’s colonial past in schools in Botswana and southern Africa.     

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.     

Promoting the implementation of inclusive education in primary schools in South Africa

The British Index for Inclusion was selected to be used in three primary schools in the Western Cape Province in South Africa in order to develop a South African model to assist in the development of inclusive schools. The Index for Inclusion process entails progression through a series of five developmental phases and this paper, written by Petra Engelbrecht, professor in educational psychology and special education and senior research director at Stellenbosch University, Marietjie Oswald, lecturer in special education at Stellenbosch University, and Chris Forlin, associate professor in special education at the Hong Kong Institute of Special Education, is a reflection of the first two phases. Qualitative data were generated from the consultative process followed in the schools during the first phase and both qualitative and quantitative data from questionnaires regarding the perceptions of all school community members on the inclusive practices or lack thereof in their schools during the second phase. The authors drew out the following five themes from the three sets of data: an inclusive school philosophy; democratic leadership, structures, processes and values; collaboration; addressing learner diversity; and resources. Petra Engelbrecht, Marietjie Oswald and Chris Forlin, all of whom were working on a UNESCO-funded project to trial the use of the Index for Inclusion in South Africa, suggest that these themes provided invaluable insights into both the common and unique complexities, the problems and the assets of the different school communities. The themes are discussed in detail in this article, raising fascinating issues for the development of inclusion in different contexts around the world, and will be used to inform the three remaining phases of the Index for Inclusion process.     

Educational Pluralism - a historical study of so-called 'pillarization' in the Netherlands,including a comparison with some developments in South African education

Recently, modern democratic governments have been facing religious and other minorities demanding state funding of separate schools. A system of completely equal treatment of both state and denominational schools has existed in the Netherlands since 1920 and is firmly rooted in the Dutch history of the previous centuries. It may be of interest to know how this pluralistic system of 'pillars'-as it has been called in Dutch historiography-came into being and how it has functioned ever since, even until the present day, when 'pillarization' is still a prominent feature of the Dutch educational domain, despite strong secularising and post-modern tendencies. This paper describes the historical roots of the Dutch pillarized educational system, i.e. of this remarkable subcultural segmentation of education-and of society in general-on the basis of different religious or philosophical views. In the process of pillarization a crucial part was played by Dutch Protestants. With South Africa being heavily influenced by these Protestants and South African educational history running partly parallel to Dutch educational history during the 19th century, it seems worthwhile to examine why pillarisation did not occur in the southern hemisphere. In order to understand the process of pillarization it is necessary to look well into the history of the Netherlands since the 17th century. Relevant similarities between the South African and the Dutch developments up to 1900 are presented as well. At the time when the Dutch system of educational 'pillars'-or 'voluntary apartheid' as it has recently been called-fully developed towards the end of the 19th century, South African educational history, however, took a completely different course towards compulsory racial apartheid. The present revolutionary changes in South Africa, however, seem to entail some new interesting parallels between the educational situations in both countries. To substantiate this, the paper highlights some relevant features of 20th century South African educational developments, before analysing the present Dutch situation and giving the reasons for the permanent strength of the pillars. Not only are the old pillars still standing firmly, but new minorities of immigrants have also discovered the uses of the system of pillarization for identity-building and cultural emancipation. To conclude, the paper addresses the question of whether pillarization in education can and should be adopted outside the Netherlands.     

Managing teaching and learning in South African schools

This paper examines the significance of leadership and management in enhancing classroom practice and improving learner outcomes in two provinces of South Africa. It is increasingly recognised, internationally and in South Africa, that managing teaching and learning is one of the most important activities for principals and other school leaders. Managing teaching and learning is one of the core modules in South Africa's new national qualification for school principals. Drawing on case studies of eight schools, mostly in disadvantaged contexts, the paper shows that managing teaching and learning are often inadequate, and largely fails to compensate for the social and educational problems facing learners and their communities.     

Educational Leadership Reconsidered: Re-Invoking Authority in Schools

By far the most challenging task faced by schools in post-apartheid South Africa, has been the distance educational leaders were mandated to put between the educational institutions and the apartheid legacy of racial discrimination and exclusion. It is therefore not surprising that there are two dominant approaches to educational leadership, namely the transactional and transformational leadership paradigms that were considered as apposite to ensure the implementation of new educational policy and curriculum developments. Indeed, the theoretical debates about educational leadership have extended expositions of the concepts of transactional and transformative leadership that are often perceived as forms of educational leadership that can enhance the democratisation of educational institutions, such as schools. However, after the demise of apartheid all attempts to move beyond authoritative practices have been shown to be undesirable; and the transactional and transformative forms of educational leadership might have too hastily and prematurely abandoned authoritative forms of leadership. Therefore, in this article the authors argue in defence of authority as constitutive of transformative leadership in schools by reflecting on current leadership practices in schools.     

MARKETISATION AS A STRATEGY FOR DESEGREGATION AND REDRESS: THE CASE OF HISTORICALLY WHITE SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

This article examines the process of desegregation in historically white schools in South Africa. It is argued that reforms within these schools can be understood as an example of the marketisation of education. The article commences with a consideration of the relevance and scope of such an approach. Exponents of marketisation in South Africa (as elsewhere) have claimed that the introduction of market forces can help to increase "choice" for the consumers of education. It is also suggested that it can act as a means of redressing past inequalities. These arguments are critically considered in relation to the experiences of black pupils both within the schools themselves and within the wider educational system. It is argued that a marketised approach towards desegregation may have increased choice for whites and for a minority of blacks, but has not increased choice for blacks as a whole. Nor has it served as an efficient mechanism for the redistribution of educational resources. Although the article is critical of many aspects of the marketisation process, it is acknowledged that some of the policies associated with marketisation are compatible with the creation of a more equitable and efficient education system.     

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.     

Agency and Structure: Principals’ Ability to Bring about Sustainable Improvement in Underperforming Schools in South Africa

This article reports on a study of which the purpose was to understand the role of principals in changing underperforming schools towards sustainable improvement in one circuit area of North-West, South Africa. School principals play a crucial role in guiding schools towards sustainable improvement by shaping a vision of academic success for all learners. Managing teaching is one of the core modules in South Africa’s new national qualification for school principals, and that being the case, principals should play a central role in effecting the educational transformation of all learners. The quality of principals’ leadership is the key factor driving the transformational turnaround and improvement required in schools. They perform a highly complex and dynamic role in enhancing and sustaining school improvement. It was the goal of this qualitative study to explore cultural, structural, and agential challenges faced by principals in their effort to provide for change and improvement in their schools. Six schools were purposefully selected to participate in the study and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data from the principals. The study established that paying attention to cultural, structural and agential factors in schools increases their ability to sustain learner improvement.     

The meaning of out-of-field teaching for educational leadership

Assigning teachers to a position for which they are not suitably qualified influences effective educational leadership. The paper reveals assumptions and misconceptions about the lived experiences of teachers in out-of-field positions and what it means for effective educational leadership. The multilayered meaning of out-of-field teaching for quality education is an international concern which includes countries such as Australia, USA, UK, Korea, Europe, Turkey and South Africa. The paper reports on a transnational qualitative investigation conducted in Australia and South Africa at seven schools in different educational environments. The meaning of lived experiences in relation to out-of-field teaching and educational leadership is explored through the lenses of educational directors, principals, specialist and out-of-field teachers and parents. An in-depth discussion of the practical and social implications unveils taken-for-granted traditions and cultures in relation to out-of-field teaching. The paper concludes with an in-depth discussion of the meaning out-of-field teaching has for educational leadership, while it underlines specific complexities for decision-making and policy development. The need for further research in relation to educational leadership training and professional development in relation to the out-of-field situation is revealed.     

Teacher responses to rationalisation: transformation and adaptation in the Western Cape,South Africa

This paper seeks to understand the impact of the restructuring of the teaching corps in schools in the former House of Representatives educational system in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. As a system catering for children classified coloured and which was relatively more privileged than those (eleven others) which catered for children classified African, it has been targeted as a site from which to redistribute resources for redeployment elsewhere. The paper explores the dynamics of this process, particularly with respect to how schools are managing the process of retrenching teachers. It is especially interested in how schools are managing themselves during this restructuring. The paper seeks to argue, based on empirical work conducted in schools, that professional identity and the exercise of professionalism are important indicators in gauging how well schools will cope with educational reform and change. Drawing on studies conducted in ten schools the paper classifies schools into three categories of professionalism and argues that schools with high professional indexes manage stress more effectively than schools with lower levels of professionalism.     

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.     

School Effectiveness and School Improvement in Context: The Case of South Africa

This article explores the issue of whether lists of characteristics constituting the effective school are universally valid. It argues that the effectiveness or otherwise of schools must be understood contextually as there are significant differences between both the material and ideological contexts of schooling. The article uses the example of South Africa to demonstrate the difficulties in judging schools in one context using criteria developed in another. Three examples of schools that can be considered effective in the context of the new South Africa are described and discussed and the article concludes by arguing that education for peace and democracy is an essential feature of school effectiveness in South Africa.     

Life in Special Schools in South Africa: Voices of Former Students

We describe educational experiences of people with disabilities who attended special schools in South Africa. We found significant differences in education between White and Black participants in terms of teaching quality, access to therapy and assistive devices, class sizes, subjects, and grades offered. Additional differences were noted between participants with congenital and early-onset disabilities, and those with degenerative or acquired disabilities who moved from a mainstream school to a special school. Thirty-six percent of participants in this study completed their education after Education White Paper 6 (EWP6), South Africa’s inclusive education policy had been implemented. Despite this, findings suggest that all these participants experienced similar challenges as those who received their education during the apartheid era. This study highlights the important need to address the existing “special school” scenario, and effectively implement the principles of EWP6.     

Managing teacher retention in a rural school district in South Africa

Retaining quality teachers is a global challenge for schools, particularly those in rural districts. A nation-wide study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) found that 55 % of teachers in South Africa would leave teaching if they could. Resignation was found to be one of the three largest causes of attrition (Hall et al. Potential attrition in education: the impact of job satisfaction, morale, workload and HIV/AIDS. Report presented to the ELRC by the Human Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council of South Africa, Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2005). This paper reports findings of a qualitative multi-case study of 15 schools in Moretele, part of a rural district—Bojanala—in the North-West province of South Africa. The aim of the study was to determine factors that influence teacher retention and the teacher retention strategies used by principals. The study also ascertained principals’ perceptions of their effectiveness in managing teacher retention. Data were collected through individual and focus group interviews of purposefully selected school principals. Findings suggest that rural schools have unique challenges that tend to militate against teacher retention. Reported barriers to teacher retention relate to the policy and procedures framework, working conditions in schools, socio-economic push–pull factors, teachers’ personal circumstances, and the role ambiguity of principals. The key recommendation made is that the staffing function as an aspect of Human Resource Management should be decentralized. School Governing Bodies must be empowered to make teacher-retention decisions and facilitate related activities of school principals.     

Quality education in black schools of South Africa

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which secondary school teachers in the Western Cape of South Africa thought their schools were offering quality education. From their responses, it was clear that quality education is in short supply given that internationally recognised indicators such as human and physical resources are either inadequate or non-existent. For education to contribute to national and economic development of a new South Africa, the problem of school infrastructure needs to be addressed urgently if a new South Africa is to be of meaning to all South Africans. Failure to do so will be allowing Black South Africans to continue living in a non-advantaged past South Africa which will be detrimental to their future as well as that of their country and nation.     

South African Deaf education and the Deaf community

In a special section of the american Annals of the Deaf, Deaf education and the Deaf community in South Africa are discussed. The special section is organized into 7 segments: a historical overview to establish context, the educational context, educators and learners, postgraduate education and employment, perspectives of Deaf children and their parents, sport and the arts, and spiritual lives and mental health. Throughout the entire section, however, the central focus is on the overall foundation (or lack thereof) of education for Deaf learners in South Africa.     

Making meaning of inclusive education: classroom practices in Finnish and South African classrooms

This paper reports on the findings of an international comparative research project where the roles of teachers in the implementation of inclusive education in mainstream-classroom settings in South Africa and Finland were investigated. Inclusive education within this project is broadly defined as welcoming all students to general-education schools and classrooms and not segregating students on the basis of ability or other individual or sociocultural characteristics. In this paper a qualitative analysis of Finnish and South African teachers’ day-to-day teaching and learning support practices in their classroom is discussed. Individual and focus-group interviews encouraged teachers to articulate their views in this regard. Initial findings indicate that despite the dissimilar cultural and historical contexts of these two countries, both complex contextual issues and classroom practices based on a medical-deficit understanding of diverse educational needs play a role in Finnish and South African classrooms.