My
FREE SA
Jayram Daya
My Front for Radical Educational Empowerment of South Africans
Educated “knowledge- gatherers” were once hunter-gatherers:
their new occupation, however, is practical reasoning. Educating oneself is
about focusing on what to achieve with a trained dedication to the mind, body,
and spirit. Ancient wisdom has also evolved with the advancing knowledge which
has made this millennium, the age of the multimedia. Today’s educational system
has incorporated the past with the aim of future knowledge- gatherers
advancement. In preparation for this, we need a practical educational system to
prepare the coming generation for the new world.
Has the South African educational system accommodated
the aspirations of the knowledge - gatherers of this country? The answer is simply NO. Why?
Would you like to join this front to give justice to South
Africa’s educational system?
Note 16; it is sad to read the
negatives of our (South Africa) current educational system but if this is
constructive criticism then we should look at solving the shortcomings. I think
that many points in this article need a rapid transformation. Please read the
complete article.
Note 17; the problem areas of schooling in South Africa are the Unions, unskilled
and corrupt teachers with undisciplined learners.
Note 18; the article concludes with a practical solution. Can the government take
cognize of the situation and introduce a user- friendly system where both the
teachers and the pupils are disciplined without the interferences of the an outside force like the unions, corrupt members of the parliament and the
gangsters who are mostly drug peddlers.
Note
19; if we are not able to address the situation then lets research and
find a practical system conducive to South Africa. I have randomly selected
this article as it gives an incite of the world Education Systems- Five educational systems
from which to draw inspiration
Note 20; bridging the gap from school to university has to be considered with
caution as we in South Africa have many schools with little or no concept to
prepare students for higher education.
Note 21; The Philippine educational system
also stressed the importance of attaining socioeconomic
development, nonformal education, and vocational
training…… Take note
of this point and consider it in our educational system having a socialistic
approach by the ruling party.
Note 22; By understanding cultural
characteristics of different ethnic, racial, and social groups, it is hoped
that educators will see the need to develop instructional practices that are
more responsive to cultural pluralism. Some of the cultural characteristics to
consider are communication styles, thinking styles, value systems, socialization processes,
relational patterns, and performance styles…….. South Africa needs
a cultural revolution to incorporate African values. We need African schools
and universities that would inspire its own research and cultural system which
will benefit the political system to make constructive decisions not based on
western ideology. We
need an institution for African Studies.
Note 23; The Forms of Waking Consciousness…… Do we have a good foundation for
this step to identify the deepener meaning of education when the basics are
poor and the fundamentals are neglected?
Note 24; Latvia; The educational system is
administered on three levels – national, municipal, and institutional…….South Africa with its democratic
sociological approach the ruling party
needs to consider an educational system like Latvia, interesting reading
Note 25; 10 reasons why Finland's education system is the best….. Yes, it’s the best but do we have an infrastructure
and a foundation to consider these points. No, Let us not copy a system like
the first one (OBE) with a disastrous outcome.
Note 26; A
transitiological study of some South African educational issues Now let us consider the history of the educational system in South Africa and make some important observations with a remedy.
Note 27; Yes It is a convincing argument to have English as a medium of instruction in line with the world education system.
Note 28; South Africa should now come to terms with politics, growth,
the past and the aspirations of political parties. We need an education system
that empowers the learners of South Africa and we should have a system that is
universal in Langue’s, learning methods and standards.
Note 29;‘The lack of success of ideology-driven educational
reform’ It is here the ANC needs a review of its ideology-driven policies and
investigate the world as a family and make South Africa a user-friendly member.
India has an advantage over China is just because India speaks the world Language;
ENGLISH.
South Africa’s schools
South Africa has one of the world’s worst education systems
Why it is bottom of the class
Jan 7th 2017| CAPE TOWN
Note 16; AFTER half an hour of pencil-chewing Lizeka Rantsan’s class lines up at
her desk to hand in its maths tests. The teacher at Oranjekloof primary school
in Cape Town thanks to the 11- and 12-year-olds and flicks through the papers. Ms
Rantsan sighs, unimpressed. Pulling one sheet of errant scribbles from the pile
she asks: “How are we supposed to help these children?”
It is a question that South Africa is
failing to answer. In a league table of education systems drawn up in 2015 by
the OECD club of mainly rich countries, South Africa ranks 75th out of 76. In
November the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
(TIMSS), a quadrennial test sat by 580,000 pupils in 57 countries, had South
Africa at or near the bottom of its various rankings (see chart), though its
scores had improved since 2011. Its children are behind those in poorer parts
of the continent. A shocking 27% of pupils who have attended school for six
years cannot read, compared with 4% in Tanzania and 19% in Zimbabwe. After five
years of school about half cannot work out that 24 divided by three is eight.
Only 37% of children starting school go on to pass the matriculation exam; just
4% earn a degree.
South Africa has the most unequal
school system in the world, says Nic Spaull of the University of Stellenbosch.
The gap in test scores between the top 20% of schools and the rest is wider
than in almost every other country. Of 200 black pupils who start school just
one can expect to do well enough to study engineering. Ten white kids can
expect the same result.
Many of the problems have their roots
in apartheid. The Bantu Education Act of 1953 set out to ensure that whites
received a better education than blacks, who were, according to Hendrik
Verwoerd, the future prime minister then in charge of education, to be educated
only enough to be “hewers of wood and drawers of water”. Black pupils received
about a fifth of the funding of white peers. They were taught almost no maths
or science. Most independent church-run schools that provided a good education
in black areas were shut.
After Nelson Mandela became president
in 1994 his government expanded access to schooling. It also replaced a school
system segregated by race with one divided by wealth. Schools in poorer areas
receive more state funding. But schools in richer areas can charge fees on top.
In theory these schools must admit
pupils even if their parents cannot afford the fees. In practice they are
fortresses of privilege. There are still about 500 schools built from mud,
mainly in the Eastern Cape. The Western Cape has some of the largest campuses
in the southern hemisphere, with cricket pitches as smooth as croquet lawns.
And yet money is not the reason for
the malaise. Few countries spend as much to so little effect. In South Africa public spending on education is 6.4% of GDP; the average
share in EU countries is 4.8%. More important than money are a lack of
accountability and the abysmal quality of most teachers. Central to both
failures is the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), which is
allied to the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
The role of SADTU was laid bare in a
report published in May 2016 by a team led by John Volmink, an academic. It
found “widespread” corruption and abuse. This included teachers paying union
officials for plum jobs, and female teachers being told they would be given
jobs only in exchange for sex. The government has done little in response.
Perhaps this is unsurprising; all six of the senior civil servants running
education are SADTU members.
Note 17; The union’s influence within government belies its claim that officials
are to blame for woeful schools. Last year it successfully lobbied for the
cancellation of standardised tests. It has ensured that inspectors must give
schools a year’s notice before showing up (less than 24 hours is the norm in
England). And although parent-led school governing bodies are meant to hold
teachers to account, they are more often controlled by the union or in some
cases by gangs.
But even if there were better
oversight most teachers would struggle to shape up. In one study in 2007 maths
teachers of 11- and 12-year-olds sat tests similar to those taken by their
class; questions included simple calculations of fractions and ratios. A
scandalous 79% of teachers scored below the level expected of the pupils. The
average 14-year-old in Singapore and South Korea performs much better.
It does not have to be this way.
Spark School Bramley in Johannesburg is a low-cost private school, spending
roughly as much per pupil as the average state school. And it is everything
state schools are not. Its 360 pupils begin learning at 7.30am and end around
3pm-4pm; most state schools close at 1.30pm. At the start of the day pupils
gather for mindfulness exercises, maths questions, pledges to work hard—and a
blood-pumping rendition of Katy Perry’s “Firework”. “We have an emotional
curriculum as well as an academic one,” says Bailey Thomson, a Spark director.
Pupils attend maths lessons based on
Singapore’s curriculum; literacy classes draw on how England teaches phonics. Crucially,
teachers are not members of SADTU. But they receive 250 hours of professional
development per year, about as much as the average state-school teacher gets in
a decade.
Early results show that its pupils
are on average a year ahead of their peers. Spark runs eight schools and plans
to have 20 by 2019. Other operators, such as Future Nation, co-founded by Sizwe
Nxasana, a former banker, are also expanding. “We are never going to have a
larger footprint than [the] government but we can influence it,” hopes Stacey
Brewer, Spark’s founder.
Another promising scheme is the
“collaboration schools” pilot in the Western Cape, based on academies in
England and charter schools in America. The five collaboration schools are
funded by the state but run by independent operators. In what Helen Zille, the
premier of the Western Cape, calls “a seminal moment”, the parents of
Oranjekloof pupils petitioned to keep the school in the collaboration programme
when unions tried to oppose it. Ms Zille wants to open a “critical mass” of
collaboration schools to inject competition into the public system.
Note 18; Spark and the collaboration schools suggest that South African education
need not be doomed. But together they account for a tiny fraction of the
country’s more than 25,000 schools. Widespread improvement will require
loosening the grip of SADTU. In local polls in August the ruling party saw its
worst results since the end of apartheid. This may force it to review vested
interests. More likely it will continue to fail children. “The desire to learn
has been eroded,” says Angus Duffett, the head of Silikamva High, a
collaboration school. “That is the deeper sickness.”
This article appeared in
the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the
headline "Bottom of the class"
Jan 7th 2017|
CAPE TOWN
Note 19; Five educational systems from which to draw
inspiration
In Italy there is frequent discussion of reforms in the school system and the
continual search for solutions which are right for educating our
schoolchildren in the best way. With old buildings and instruments that need
modernisation, it would be a good idea to follow the example of five
foreign educational systems that are particularly effective.
Note
19; Estonia
We start with Estonia, a country
which we have already dealt with in the
past precisely because of the way it
has decided to focus on the school system. One major fact is that ten years ago
foreign students studying in Estonia numbered about 400, today there are more
than 4000, in other words ten times as many. This
is due to teachers being given responsibility – with a great deal of
independence in the management of the educational programme and appropriate
salaries – and teaching that keeps up with the times, for example by using
the ProgeTiger, a program created to teach the
basics of computer programming at all levels, from primary school to
life-long education for adults.
In Finland there are no examinations
or marks for pupils until they are sixteen years old and the schools are always
run by the state and free of charge.
Note
19; Finland
A little further north there is another excellent
system. The Finnish system is acknowledged
as one of the best in the world and is continually in a state of innovation.
The latest development was two years ago: Finnish schools must ensure a
“cooperative” approach, allowing pupils to choose a subject that interests them
around which a part of the teaching work is organised. The changes are part of a system that is already
very different to ours, as demonstrated by the fact that the equivalent of our
primary schools starts at the age of seven and there are no examinations or
marks before the pupils reach the age of 16. Those who wish to can sign up for
secondary school until the age of 19 in preparation for university which is
also run by the state and free of charge. On a closer look, all Finnish schools
are run by the state, a feature that allows considerable uniformity in
education regardless of social class, and raises the teaching standard to a
high level with teachers who have degrees (even for primary school) and are
required to pass extremely severe tests in order to be employed.
Note
19; Switzerland
Still in Europe, there is the case of Switzerland: compulsory school up to the age of sixteen
is managed federally by the cantons just like our senior schools. The central
government is instead in control of the professional schools where courses may
last as long as four years. What makes the Swiss method
different is the attention given to the school environment; pupils
are loaned textbooks which they leave for the pupils of the preceding year,
together with pencils, paints and various equipment. Blackboards, benches and
technological apparatus are the latest but
something to think about is a factor that is more than ever human: right from primary school the pupils are invited to go to school
alone in order to instil a sense of responsibility in them and
so that they learn how to get around the city, deal with the difficulties of
the road and not have to depend on a parent.
Canada has used the educational
system to get the best from the millions of immigrants that it has hosted.
Note 19; Singapore
Lastly, there are two other success models outside
the old continent. The first is Singapore, where the
teachers are chosen from the graduates of the national training
institute. During the period of study the aspiring
teachers live side by side with more expert colleagues and already receive a
salary at this time. The teachers are also given incentives based on their performance, which are
evaluated at the end of the year on the basis of the results obtained by their
pupils and their schools. Special attention is given to professional refresher courses which all teachers attend for about
one hundred hours every year.
Note
19; Canada
In North America Canada leads
the way, using the schools to manage the flow of immigration which
brought millions of people into the country over the decades. To prevent the formation of pockets of illiterate
or unqualified population, Canada has taken steps to
encourage all social classes to enter the educational system, providing free
education up to university level. This is done notwithstanding
the federal organisation of the country in which management varies considerably
from region to region, although retaining the common characteristic of not
having specialised high schools as in Italy, but generic high schools on the
American model.
Educational systems such as those described above become problematic when students
move from secondary schools into a university intended to be somewhat
emancipatory and freeing. A postsecondary setting transfers control to
students: their personal behavior, learning choices, when and where to be, and
at what time. Note 20; More importantly,
the university experience teaches that knowledge is changeable and constructed
socially or individually; however, because students are trained by the public
school system within a power experience to view all knowledge as fixed and
testable, when asked to contribute to knowledge
construction and confronted with the idea that it is not, they may become
rebellious and angry. If our
experience is indicative, there may be a visceral emotional response on the
part of some learners when this occurs. It is a natural consequence of the
system that if students are trained to be passive and comfortable with a
teacher’s transmission of knowledge, locus of control and related affective
problems emerge when that font runs dry. Why should they be discomfited by
abstraction and uncertainty?
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Brief Historical Account of the Philippine Educational System
The Philippine educational system shows lasting influences of the
Spanish, American, and Japanese regimes. After nearly four centuries of Spanish rule, an
educational system covering the elementary to collegiate levels was established
through the promulgation of the Educational Decree of 1863. The decree made
possible the establishment of complete secondary and collegiate levels of
instructions, the provision for government supervision and control of these
schools, and the establishment of teacher training
institutions (Estioko,
1994).
When the
Americans occupied Manila in 1898, they immediately reopened the schools. The
American regime was marked by an extensive public educational system that used
English as medium of instruction. The regime attempted to unify the
archipelago, to spread the ideals of democracy, and to facilitate colonial
rule. During this period, the Philippine educational system, particularly the
public school system, became unified and well organized, enabling every citizen
to enjoy the benefits that education provides. This was also the time when the
educational system was overhauled, when grade 7 was eliminated and when the
double-session plan was introduced to accommodate more students (Zwanopoel,
1972).
During
the brief Japanese occupation (1941–44), the Japanese redirected the political
and cultural orientation of education from Western to Japanese values rooted on
love for neighbor. Vocational education and the use of Niponggo as medium of
instruction were also introduced. The Japanese also stressed the importance of
physical education and music, particularly singing Japanese songs (San Mateo
and Tangco, 1997).
After the
Philippines was granted independence on 4 July 1946, the government focused on
rehabilitating the educational system and on conserving the Filipino heritage. Note 21; The Philippine educational system
also stressed the importance of attaining socioeconomic
development, nonformal education, and vocational training.
The system was revolutionized to bridge the gap between manpower development
and the country’s industrial needs.
Today, the Philippine educational system adopts a more quantifiable
measure of performance, promotes values of good citizenship, English
instruction, global education, and strong technical–vocational education (TVE).
It aims to address multiple and diverse challenges and support a system of
capacity building and institutional streamlining
(Figure
2).
Asian students
Note
22; Some educational
systems (especially Asian) are very teacher centered in that the teacher
lectures and the students are passive recipients; see Kirkbride and Tang,
1992; Chan, 1999; Neuman and Bekerman, 2000; Wong, 2004. These researchers
found that Chinese students preferred didactic and
teacher-centered styles of teaching and would show great respect for the wisdom
and knowledge of their teachers; these same students might struggle when they
encountered a teacher who used a constructivist or student-centered approach. Chinese students are generally
quiet in class and were taught not to question or challenge their teachers.
Teachers are regarded as having the authority and knowledge to teach and
students readily accepted the information given by teachers. A Chinese student
may therefore be less likely to express his/her opinion, unless asked to do so. Note
22; Chinese children learned well through concrete examples. They usually
did better in concrete subjects but were weaker in abstract thinking and lacked
creativity and originality (Salili, 1996, p. 100). Chan
(1999) claimed that Chinese students were assessed mainly by examination
(factual knowledge), with little emphasis on solving practical problems.
In a
study carried out in Australia (Wong, 2004), 78 first-year to fourth-year Asian
international undergraduate students participated in a survey to determine
teaching and program quality in higher education from the students’
perspective. The three main difficulties highlighted by Note 22; Asian
international students were: different learning styles, cultural
barriers, and language problems. When the Asian international students surveyed
began their study in Australia, initially more of them (33 percent) preferred
the lecture style because they came from a background of teacher-centered
learning, but as they moved into their third and fourth year of study this
preference seemed to shift. This was evidenced by the fact that only 23 percent of the third- and
fourth-year students preferred this style of teaching and learning. As students
became more immersed in the programs, their preferred style of teaching and
learning evolved into one that was student centered (with more discussion,
independent learning, and critical thinking) despite their previous educational
and cultural background.
The above
study illustrates some of the experiences and views of Asian students who left
their native educational system and then had to adapt to a new system. In the
debriefing with the Asian students in this study, the students indicated
similar desires to have information given to them in order to be able to answer
a question based on that information, rather than exploring some alternative. Note 22; They relied on a standard process that they could look to
for getting information and expected it to be applied throughout. Once they
understood a procedure they were confused if there was any variation.
Education scholar Geneva Gay (2000) argues that the nexus of
cultural influence is a student’s “learning style,” shaping the way in which
students receive and process information most effectively. By understanding
cultural characteristics of different ethnic, racial, and social groups, it is
hoped that educators will see the need to develop instructional practices that
are more responsive to cultural pluralism. Some of the cultural characteristics
to consider are communication styles, thinking styles, value systems, socialization processes,
relational patterns, and performance styles (Gay, 2003; St. Amant, 2007;
Pagan, 2009; Yang et al., 2010). All of these may influence a student’s
receptivity to various styles of teaching, presentation modes, and design of
online materials.
Attention-Focused Waking
Our educational system can be viewed as a training program for the
establishment and maintenance of the conscious state of focused waking.
Intelligence quotient (IQ) tests have the remarkable capacity to predict school
performance and later life success in Western society (6). IQ tests assess
the capacity to recall stored knowledge – what is sometimes called
“crystallized intelligence.” These tests of intelligence also test for the
students’ ability to attain and maintain a state of focused waking. This ability
to reason or solve problems when applied to novel domains is called “fluid
intelligence” (7). Focused waking often includes the various types of
rational thought processing (Table 5.1).
Attention, as an
aspect of focused waking consciousness, has proven amenable to experimental
study. Our conceptual and implicit understanding of attention has changed
somewhat since the topic was addressed in 1890 by William James:
Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the
mind, in a clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem to be several
simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration of
consciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in
order to deal effectively with others.
(James, 1890) (8)
Attention has at least three components: executive attention, alerting,
and orienting. What James described as attention is now called “executive
attention,” the component of attention involved in focusing and narrowing the
focus of attention. Executive attention is anatomically based in the anterior
cingulate gyrus of the
frontal cortex. Alerting is a rapid response to perceptual and sense input,
characterized in psychological
testing by an increased error rate compared to executive attention.
Alerting is neuroanatomically associated with the right medial aspect of the
frontal lobe. Orienting, the process of positioning and placement with
reference to time and place, takes place in the anterior occipital/posterior
parietal region, the most posterior of these CNS locations (9).
Beyond the behavioral aspects of attention, quantitative
electroencephalography (QEEG) has been useful in classifying and comparing the
waking conscious states. Several authors have proposed that consciousness
itself has an electrophysiological signature in the beta/gamma frequency that
occurs during cognitive states of attention (10). We live in the
pervasive electrical grid of 60 Hz alternating electrical currents. In our
modern hospitals, background electrical activity can only be eliminated with
the use of filters that technically eliminate the beta and gamma
(30–80 Hz) EEG frequencies that are in the same physiological range. The
experimental definition of consciousness as attention, coupled with the
proposed electrophysiological correlate for consciousness, has led some authors
to suggest that the electrophysiological correlates of attention be utilized to
define consciousness and model consciousness states (11). Short-lived but
highly coherent oscillation in the gamma/beta frequency has been reported to
occur during the processing of perceptual input during focused
waking (12). Gamma/beta is postulated to act as a “binding” frequency with
the functional ability to produce a temporal synchronicity of neurons involved
in a specific cognitive process (13). Beta/gamma oscillations are
potentially involved in the process of “working memory,” the type of memory
that enables us to keep non-current memories available for cognitive
processing (14).
The conflation of attention with consciousness has been in some ways
unfortunate. Consciousness is much more than attention, and many attentional
processes (e.g., where we move our eyes when we focus our attention) are
unconsciousness (15). Attention is sensorally multifaceted, with each of
these perceptual systems (visual, auditory, tactile, and olfactory) controlled
by an associated system for perceptual processing. Parallel but separate
systems executively control those processes of attention (16). The
multiple processing systems for attention and their behavioral expression are
under central cognitive control. Through central attention each of these
systems is allocated to handle competing demands of information
processing (17). Since this is a book focusing primarily on dream science,
focused waking – the least dream-like of cognitive states – is considered
primarily as a comparative marker for other conscious states (Table 5.2).
Table 5.2. Comparative
Behavioral and Synchronous Electroencephalographic (EEG) Characteristics of
Waking States
|
Perceptual Isolation
|
Thought- Attention
|
Associated Synchronous EEG Frequencies
|
Focused
waking
|
Lowest
|
Focused
|
Beta/gamma
|
Self-referential
(default) waking
|
Low
|
Self-focused
|
Beta/gamma,
delta, 0.5 Hz activity
|
Drowsy
waking
|
Low
|
Unfocused
|
Alpha
|
Creative
waking
|
Low–moderate
|
Focused
|
NS
|
Hypnosis
|
Moderate
|
Variable
|
NS
|
Focused
meditation
|
Moderate
|
Focused
|
Gamma,
alpha
|
Unfocused
meditation
|
Moderate
|
Focused/unfocused
|
Alpha,
theta
|
Note: NS=not studied.
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Latvia
A. Joma, in International Encyclopedia of Education (Third Edition),
2010
Administrative and Supervisory Structure
Note 24; The educational system is administered on three levels – national,
municipal, and institutional. The parliament, cabinet of ministers, and
ministry of education and science are the main decision-making bodies at the
national level. The ministry as the leading public administration institution
in the field of education and science implements a single national policy and
development strategy in education, develops education, science, sport, youth
and state-language policies, organizes and coordinates their implementation, in
addition to developing draft-regulatory legislation regulating the sector, and
draft-policy planning documents.
Every municipality supervises the preschool, basic, and general upper
secondary schools located in its administrative territory and participates in
funding the maintenance expenses of those educational institutions. A board of
education is established by each municipality to perform its education-related
functions.
Vocational education and training schools are mainly maintained and
supervised by the Ministry of Education and Science in strong cooperation with
branch ministries and social partners. Only art and music schools are placed
under the authority of the Ministry of Culture. Private and municipal schools
must be registered with the National Registrar of Education and comply with
government education standards.
In the tertiary sector, decision-making, regulation, funding, and
governance are shared between the government and the institutions themselves.
Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies established under national
legislation, each with its own independent governing body (senate). The primary
institution responsible for higher education is the Ministry of Education and
Science, which administers government funding, policy, and programs. While
higher education institutions are autonomous, they are accountable to the
government via accreditation.
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Professional Issues
Jessica L Kohout, in Comprehensive Clinical Psychology, 1998
2.36.6.1 APA Recommendations
The educational system will have to change. Educational institutions
will need to target clinical and research expertise to society's real needs
(VandenBos et al., 1991). There needs to be greater emphasis on life-long
learning and the content and the nature of the training will have to change.
Some have called for a common core of general knowledge with specialization
occurring postdoctorally. Practical experience or internships will need to be
developed outside mental health settings to give trainees some experience with
professionals from other fields in a variety of settings. Providing experiences
with a diversity of populations and clients will be essential.
Technological literacy is critical to managing one's practice and
evaluating and demonstrating effectiveness and efficiency. This involves
computer literacy, ability to use information and delivery system technologies
and research skills.
The ability to work with and communicate with professionals from other
disciplines via interdisciplinary teamwork in multidisciplinary settings will
be central to success in the evolving systems. Professional ethnocentrism is to
be avoided.
Ultimately, the professional psychologist should be innovative, flexible
and able to adapt to nontraditional settings, clients and modes of delivery by
offering interventions that have been shown to work.
Practitioners will have to be able to demonstrate the cost effectiveness
of psychological services and be able to predict and control costs. They will
have to be able to fill public education and advocacy roles and they will need
an understanding of the structure of evolving health care systems, including
financing, organization, policy, and delivery principles. The ability to market
one's services is necessary.
These recommendations and observations from the field indicate that
health psychology will have a large role in the future (Cummings, 1995), by
providing psychologists with the skills necessary to plan, research, and
implement intervention programs for somaticizers and noncompliant chronically
physically ill as well as programs for those with unhealthy behaviors (smoking,
overeating, etc.) (e.g., Cummings, Dorken, Pallak, & Henke, 1993; Pallak,
Cummings, Dorken, & Henke, 1993). Empirical outcomes research is also
critical in that it will comprise the basis on which psychological
interventions/therapies will rest, most of which are likely to be small group and
psychoeducational in nature (Cummings, 1995).
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Note
25; 10 reasons why Finland's education system is the
best
No standardized tests, no private
schools, no stress. Finland's education system is consistently ranked best in
the world. Why isn't America copying it?
09 September, 2018
According to a recent European study, Finland is
the country which has best school results in Europe thanks to its teaching system.
AFP PHOTO OLIVIER MORIN
·
Finland's intellectual and
educational reforms have completely revolutionized their educational system.
·
The Finnish system doesn't encourage
cramming or standardized tests.
·
Finland's common-sense practices and
a holistic teaching environment strives for equity over excellence.
Time and time
again, American students continually rank near the middle or bottom among
industrialized nations when it comes to performance in math and science. The
Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) which in conjunction with
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) routinely releases data which
shows that Americans are seriously lagging behind in a number of educational
performance assessments.
Despite calls for education reform and
a continual lackluster performance on the international scale, not a lot is
being done or changing within the educational system. Many private and public
schools run on the same antiquated systems and schedules that were once
conducive to an agrarian society. The mechanization and rigid assembly-line
methods we use today are spitting out ill-prepared worker clones, rudderless
adults and an uninformed populace.
But no amount of
pontificating will change what we already know. The American education system
needs to be completely revamped – from the first grade to the Ph.D. It's going
to take a lot more than a
well-meaning celebrity project to
do that…
Many people are
familiar with the stereotype of the hard-working, rote memorization, myopic
tunnel vision of Eastern Asian study and work ethics. Many of these countries,
like China, Singapore, and Japan amongst others routinely rank in the number
one spots in both math and science.
Some pundits point
towards this model of exhaustive brain draining as something Americans should
aspire to become. Work more! Study harder! Live less. The facts and figures
don't lie – these countries are outperforming us, but there might be a better
and healthier way to go about this
Finland is the
answer – a country rich in intellectual and educational reform has
initiated over the years a number of novel and simple changes that have
completely revolutionized their educational system. They outrank the United
States and are gaining on Eastern Asian countries.
Are they cramming
in dimly-lit rooms on robotic schedules? Nope. Stressing over standardized
tests enacted by the government? No way. Finland is leading the way because
of common-sense practices and a holistic teaching environment that strives for
equity over excellence. Here are 10 reasons why Finland's education system is
dominating America and the world stage.
Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver
Post
No standardized testing
Staying in line
with our print-minded sensibilities, standardized testing is the blanket way we
test for subject comprehension. Filling in little bubbles on a scantron and
answering pre-canned questions is somehow supposed to be a way to determine
mastery or at least competence of a subject. What often happens is that
students will learn to cram just to pass a test and teachers will be teaching
with the sole purpose of students passing a test. Learning has been thrown out
of the equation.
Finland has no
standardized tests. Their only exception is something called the National
Matriculation Exam, which is a voluntary test for students at the end of an
upper-secondary school (equivalent to an American high school.) All children
throughout Finland are graded on an individualized basis and grading system set
by their teacher. Tracking overall progress is done by the Ministry of
Education, which samples groups across different ranges of schools.
Accountability for teachers (not required)
A lot of the blame
goes to the teachers and rightfully so sometimes. But in Finland, the bar is
set so high for teachers, that there is often no reason to have a rigorous
“grading" system for teachers. Pasi Sahlberg, director of the Finnish
Ministry of Education and writer of Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn
from Educational Change in Finland? Said that following about teachers'
accountability:
"There's no word for
accountability in Finnish… Accountability is something that is left when
responsibility has been subtracted."
All teachers are
required to have a master's degree before entering the profession. Teaching
programs are the most rigorous and selective professional schools in the entire
country. If a teacher isn't performing well, it's the individual principal's
responsibility to do something about it.
The concept of the
pupil-teacher dynamic that was once the master to apprentice cannot be
distilled down to a few bureaucratic checks and standardized testing measures.
It needs to be dealt with on an individual basis.
Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver
Post
Cooperation not competition
While most
Americans and other countries see the educational system as one big Darwinian
competition, the Finns see it differently. Sahlberg quotes a line from a writer
named Samuli Paronen which says that:
“Real winners do not compete."
Ironically, this attitude
has put them at the head of the international pack. Finland's educational
system doesn't worry about artificial or arbitrary merit-based systems. There
are no lists of top performing schools or teachers. It's not an environment of
competition – instead, cooperation is the norm.
Make the basics a priority
Many school systems
are so concerned with increasing test scores and comprehension in math and
science, they tend to forget what constitutes a happy, harmonious and healthy
student and learning environment. Many years ago, the Finnish school system was
in need of some serious reforms.
The program that
Finland put together focused on returning back to the basics. It wasn't about
dominating with excellent marks or upping the ante. Instead, they looked to
make the school environment a more equitable place.
Since the 1980s,
Finnish educators have focused on making these basics a priority:
·
Education should be an instrument to
balance out social inequality.
·
All students receive free school
meals.
·
Ease of access to health care.
·
Psychological counseling
·
Individualized guidance
Beginning with the
individual in a collective environment of equality is Finland's way.
Starting school at an older age
Here the Finns
again start by changing very minute details. Students start school when they
are seven years old. They're given free reign in the developing childhood years
to not be chained to compulsory education. It's simply just a way to let a kid
be a kid.
There are only 9
years of compulsory school that Finnish children are required to attend.
Everything past the ninth grade or at the age of 16 is optional.
Just from a
psychological standpoint, this is a freeing ideal. Although it may anecdotal,
many students really feel like they're stuck in a prison. Finland alleviates
this forced ideal and instead opts to prepare its children for the real world.
Providing professional options past a traditional
college degree
The current
pipeline for education in America is incredibly stagnant and immutable.
Children are stuck in the K-12 circuit jumping from teacher to teacher. Each
grade a preparation for the next, all ending in the grand culmination of
college, which then prepares you for the next grand thing on the conveyor belt.
Many students don't need to go to college and get a worthless degree or
flounder about trying to find purpose and incur massive debt.
Finland solves this
dilemma by offering options that are equally advantageous for the student
continuing their education. There is a lesser focused dichotomy of
college-educated versus trade-school or working class. Both can be equally
professional and fulfilling for a career.
In Finland, there
is the Upper Secondary School which is a three-year program that prepares
students for the Matriculation Test that determines their acceptance into a
University. This is usually based off of specialties they've acquired during
their time in “high-school"
Next, there is
vocational education, which is a three-year program that trains students for
various careers. They have the option to take the Matriculation test if they
want to then apply to University.
Finns wake up later for less strenuous schooldays
Waking up early,
catching a bus or ride, participating in morning and after school
extracurriculars are huge time sinks for a student. Add to the fact that some
classes start anywhere from 6am to 8am and you've got sleepy, uninspired
adolescents on your hands.
Students in Finland
usually start school anywhere from 9:00 – 9:45 AM. Research
has shown that early start times are
detrimental to students' well-being, health, and maturation. Finnish schools
start the day later and usually end by 2:00 – 2:45 AM. They have longer class
periods and much longer breaks in between. The overall system isn't there to
ram and cram information to their students, but to create an environment of holistic
learning.
Consistent instruction from the same teachers
There are fewer
teachers and students in Finnish schools. You can't expect to teach an
auditorium of invisible faces and breakthrough to them on an individual level.
Students in Finland often have the same teacher for up to six years of their
education. During this time, the teacher can take on the role of a mentor or
even a family member. During those years, mutual trust and bonding are built so
that both parties know and respect each other.
Different needs and
learning styles vary on an individual basis. Finnish teachers can account for
this because they've figured out the student's own idiosyncratic needs. They
can accurately chart and care for their progress and help them reach their goals.
There is no passing along to the next teacher because there isn't one.
Levi, Finland. Photo by Christophe
Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images.
A more relaxed atmosphere
There is a general
trend in what Finland is doing with its schools. Less stress, less unneeded
regimentation and more caring. Students usually only have a couple of classes a
day. They have several times to eat their food, enjoy recreational activities
and generally just relax. Spread throughout the day are 15 to 20-minute
intervals where the kids can get up and stretch, grab some fresh air and
decompress.
This type of environment is also needed by the teachers. Teacher rooms are set
up all over Finnish schools, where they can lounge about and relax, prepare for
the day or just simply socialize. Teachers are people too and need to be
functional so they can operate at the best of their abilities.
Less homework and outside work required
According to the
OECD, students in Finland have the least amount of outside work and homework
than any other student in the world. They spend only half an hour a night
working on stuff from school. Finnish students also don't have tutors. Yet
they're outperforming cultures that have toxic school-to-life balances without
the unneeded or unnecessary stress.
Finnish students
are getting everything they need to get done in school without the added
pressures that come with excelling at a subject. Without having to worry about
grades and busy-work they are able to focus on the true task at hand – learning
and growing as a human being.
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On-line version ISSN 2076-3433
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S.
Afr. j. educ. vol.29 n.3 Pretoria Aug. 2009
Note 26; A transitiological study of some South African
educational issues
Corene
de Wet; Charl Wolhuter
IProfessor in the Faculty of Education at the
University of the Free State. Her research focuses on crime and violence in
schools and comparative education. E-mail: dewetnc.hum@ufs.ac.za
IIProfessor in the Department of Comparative Education at North-West
University, Potchefstroom Campus. He has lectured in history of education and
comparative education at the Universities of Pretoria and Zululand.
E-mail: Charl.Wolhuter@nwu.ac.za
In this study
enrolment numbers and levels, as well as language-in-education, were viewed
from a linear, comparative perspective. In the era prior to 1994, black and
white learners not only attended separate schools but the segregated schools
had different policies regarding medium of instruction. Resistance to the
language policy regarding black education culminated in the 1976 uprisings.
This led to the scrapping of both Afrikaans and black home languages as
language of instruction in black schools. After the uprisings, black schools
followed a policy of decreasing bilingualism. Note 27; After 1994, in the spirit of
democracy, official and educational status were granted to eleven languages.
Deep-seated distrust and fear, that home-language education would lead to
impoverishment, social and political isolation, and disempowerment, caused the
majority of South African learners to prefer English rather than their home
language as language of instruction. From a linear comparison, it transpires
that the language-in-education situation in the classroom has changed very
little since 1994. Enrolment numbers and levels, particularly the disparities
between white and black, were other points of criticism regarding the education
system before 1994. Prior to 1994, compulsory education had only been fully
implemented with regard to the white and, to a lesser extent, Indian and
coloured sections of the population. The vision that the ANC had in 1955, that
"the doors of learning shall be open", was only reflected in policy
documents and laws. Both primary-school and secondary-school enrolment numbers
showed an increase after the ANC government came to power. The net enrolment
numbers (1995-2004) for primary education showed a decrease from 95.0% to
87.4%,but the enrolment numbers for secondary education showed an increase from
56.0% to 67.2%. Despite the latter positive statistics, it would appear that
the objective of universal education has still not been realised in South
Africa.
Keywords: comparative education; enrolment numbers and
levels; language as an educational issue; transformation; transitiology
Introduction
The assumption of
power by the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994 resulted in the
political transformation of South Africa. This transformation encompassed all
areas of society, including education. Transformation in education was then
also singled out for specific attention. Education not only had to be
transformed, it had also to play a key role in the transformation of the South
African community (Duvenhage, 2006:125). The 1995 White Paper for Education and
Training (DoE, 1995:4) stated this vision as follows:
It should be a goal
of education and training policy to enable a democratic, free, equal, just and
peaceful society to take root and prosper in our land, on the basis that all
South Africans without exception share the same inalienable rights, equal
citizenship, and common national destiny, and that all forms of bias
(especially racial, ethnic and gender) are dehumanising.
Six years later the
Department of Education (DoE, 2001:2) repeated this vision by stating that
education had to play a role "to overcome the devastation of apartheid,
and provide a system of education that builds democracy, human dignity,
equality and social justice".
Note 28;In order to achieve
this, education had to be transformed. Duvenhage (2006:133) summarises the
focal points of educational transformation as follows:
- The creation of a single, non-racial education
dispensation wherein there is space for all participants.
- The entire overhaul and democratisation of
education management.
- The upgrading and improvement of the education
infrastructure.
- The transformation of curricula in order to
eradicate the legacy of apartheid in the system.
According to Duvenhage
(2006:136), the ANC government worked hard right from the start to realise the
transformation objective. They achieved many successes, although many plans
miscarried and others had to be redesigned. Some of the successes and failures
will be highlighted here.
At a two-day summit
during which members of the Eastern Cape Department of Education reflected
upon transformation in education in that province, various problems were
identified: a shortfall in earners' skills development, in particular literacy
and numerical skills; an unequal distribution of resources and infrastructure;
and a poor work ethic among educators. At this summit, the Chairperson of the
Education Portfolio Committee, Mahlubandile Qwase, voiced his concern about the
lack of support for African languages and culture in former Model C schools, as
well as the violence in schools (Sitayata-Soga, 2006:3). With reference to
this, Van Wyk (2006:24) reported that "schools in South Africa do not
function satisfactorily". According to the Executive Director of the
Institute for Justice and Reconciliation [IJR], Villa-Vicencio (in Van Wyk,
2006:24), the blame must be laid at the door of principals who do not manage
their schools effectively and poor discipline amongst learners. Moreover, Jansen
(2005:10) made the accusation that governing bodies of former Model C schools
thwarted the transformation process:
… far too many
all-white schools … have used language policy or enrolment policy or teacher
appointment processes to retain the dominant culture and clientele of the
school.
From the preceding
three reports it appears that the transformation process in education has not
succeeded. However, post-1994 education in South Africa has not been
characterised by failures only. Duvenhage (2006:135) points out, amongst other
things, the following transformation successes: increased access to schools; a
considerable improvement in the qualifications of educators; an improvement in
the ratio of educators to learners; and an increase in the per capita spending
per learner.
A study of changes in
education in a transforming society necessitates a knowledge of the literature
regarding transformation.
Theoretical
foundation
Social transformation
can take different forms. Sometimes transformation is the result of political
change; sometimes because of demographic and economic changes. According to
Bray and Borevskaya (2001:345), the scope and importance of studies pertaining
to transformation have increased to such an extent that it has developed into an
independent field of study, known as 'transitiology'.
The term transitiology was
initially used during the 1970s by political scientists in their analysis of
the political, cultural and economic problems in southern Europe and Latin
America. Since the 1990s, the term has also been used in the analysis of
political transformation in eastern and central Europe (Cowen, 1996:163). In
1996, the term was borrowed by Cowen (1996:163) from political scientists (cf.
Martyanov, 2005:175-191; Saxonberg & Linde, 2003:3-14; Carothers,
2002:5-21; Haynes & Husan, 2002: 105-129; Ma, 1998:339-348) "to
illustrate some of the complexities of the transition of pre-modern to modern
to late-modern education systems". By way of his publications Cowen
(1996:163-165; 2000:338; 2002:422) established the term in Comparative
Education literature (cf. Sweeting, 2007:159; Steiner-Khamasi,
2005:148-172; Sweeting, 2005:27-29; Alexander, 2001:507; Steiner-Khamasi &
Stolpe, 2004:29-53; Kazamias, 2001:439-449; Usarralde, 2002:7; Bray & Borevskaya,
2001:345; Bray & Lee, 1997:149-156).
Cowen (2000:338)
defines transitiology as
… the more or less
simultaneous collapse and reconstruction of (a) state apparatuses; (b) social
and economic stratification systems; and (c) political visions of the future;
in which (d) education is given a major symbolic and deconstructionist role in
these social processes of destroying the past and redefining the future.
Cowen (2002:422)
places a time limit upon the concept of transitiology: the transformation should
take place within the scope of ten years. Consequently, the Chinese revolution
is not an example of transitiology. It lasted from the demise of the Manchu
Dynasty in 1912 up to and with the stabilisation of the Chinese State under Mao
in 1949. On the contrary, Castro's revolution in Cuba; Turkey under the rule of
Atatürk; Britain during the premiership of Thatcher; the end of Franco's and
the Shah's regimes in Spain and Iran, respectively; or the Meiji Restoration in
Japan are examples of transitiologies (Cowen, 2002:422; 2000:338;
1996:164).
In all the preceding
examples there were extensive attempts to reconstruct state structures (e.g.
the reinstitution of the emperor in Japan). The end of feudalism in and the
decreased emphasis on the equal division of income in Britain during the 1980s
are examples of attempts to change the social and economic systems. New
political visions found embodiment in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. New
political structures were also established in Poland, Turkey and Russia (Cowen,
2002:423).
Cowen (2002:423)
points out that education in all the above examples was redefined in order to
play a decisive role in the establishment of the "new future".
Education was used purposefully and aggressively to direct and build the future.
Atatürk's learning of the new Latin alphabet in the Dolmabahçe Palace is a
practical embodiment of the redefinition of education in Turkey. In China the
closing down of schools during the mid-1960s hinted at the notion that a new
type of education would lead the Cultural Revolution towards its destiny. When
schools were eventually reopened, teachers were replaced by members of the
working class, peasants and soldiers. They had to transmit Mao's philosophies
to the people of the country by means of education.
According to Cowen
(2000:339), transitiologies are "pleasantly complex mixtures of the
political, economic, ideological and sociological". Furthermore, he
advocates a better understanding and knowledge of transitiologies amongst
educationists, because a study of these turning points in history has illustrated
the influence of political and economic powers upon education. A study of
transitiologies suggests seemingly easy questions requiring complicated
answers. What is, for example, the relationship between futuristic ideologies
and prevailing education practices? How much of the existing education system
has to be changed or destroyed to transform education in accordance with the
new political ideology?
Bray and Borevskaya
(2001:346) are of the opinion that although Cowen (1999:84; 2000:339) sometimes
confuses the term "transition" with "transitiologies"
(the study of transitions), and not all academics agree with his time limit of
ten years, he has managed to focus upon the importance of the study of
"major social turbulences" for comparative educationists. By means of
his work, Cowen once again stressed the fact that comparative educationists
should not concern themselves with "the business of comparing education
across cultures, nations, regions and indeed academic disciplines"
(Alexander, 2001:507), but rather with a moment-in-time in a single education
system (Cowen, 2002:413). This approach, which is often associated with
structuralism, offers comparative educators the opportunity to analyse events
in depth (Sweeting, 2007:159-160).
A
moment-in-time in South African history: influence upon some education matters
Introduction
For comparative
educationists, transitiologies are like "lightning storms … on a
dark day" (Cowen, 2000:339). According to Sweeting (2005:29), Cowen focuses
"on the moments of time (and thus, on temporal units, metaphorically in
freeze-frame)". Such moments-in-time in the history of South Africa, which
had and still have far-reaching consequences for South African education, were
the unbanning of the ANC, the release of Nelson Mandela and the ensuing coming
into power of the ANC. For a former Minister of Education, Kader Asmal (DoE,
2001:1), April 1994 was a turning point in the history of South Africa:
In April 1994 … fear
was replaced by hope, repression by democratic freedom, exclusion and division
by the possibilities of inclusiveness and unity. A massive national project [Tirisano]
to take down the scaffolding of apartheid and replace it with a system that
promised well-being, respect, and expression for all South Africans began.
Macro-societal
context: The ideology of the national democratic revolution
The current
transformation of education in South Africa plays itself out within the
societal framework of the ruling party's (ANC) ideology of the national
democratic revolution (cf. Duvenhage, 2007).Note 28;This ideology guides the ANC's entire societal
reconstruction project. According to Duvenhage (2007:384-385) the following could
be regarded as the core (central philosophy) of this ideology of the national
democratic revolution:
- The establishment of democratic institutions,
which could claim to be representative;
- the accomplishment of a non-racial democratic
dispensation;
- initiating progressive, sustainable and
development-orientedness with regard to the South African and Pan-African
(NEPAD and African Union) societies; and
- the employment of extensive social engineering
"to meet the mass revolutionary challenge".
As is the case with
any ideology, the ideology of the national democratic revolution consists of a
stable, unchanging hard core or a set of fundamental beliefs, and a surrounding
social-political programme, which strives to execute or realise the ideology.
Frequently this programme founders on demographic, economic, political and
other realities — so much so that ideologies often fall short of their mark.
This could hardly be better illustrated than in educational transformation in
South Africa. The following three examples will suffice:
Note 28;The mergers of
universities, which were driven by ideological motives, did not succeed
(Jansen, 2002), as the Minister of Education has recently admitted (cf.
Gower & Pretorius, 2009:1).
The institution of
Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), another centrepiece of government's educational
transformation plan, bogged down in the everyday realities of South African
classrooms, such as under-qualified teachers, lack of adequate resources, and
absence of a proper culture of teaching and learning in many schools (cf.
Warnich & Wolhuter, 2009), to the extent that even the founder and most
voluble exponent of OBE, William Spady (2008), counsels government to abandon
the OBE project.
While government
focuses on grandiose projects such as the merger of universities and OBE, basic
aspects such as input, throughput and output quality are neglected. Of the
25,415 public schools in South Africa, 4,046 have no electricity, 2,891 no
source of water, and 17,081 no computers (South African Institute of Race
Relations, 2008:368-370). A mere 46% of Grade 1 learners eventually reach Grade
12 (Rademeyer, 2008:7). Since 2003 the matriculation pass rate has been falling
each year (South African Institute of Race Relations, 2008:376).
Implications for
education
After the emergence
of the new political dispensation in 1994, the new education authorities had
therefore to address the legacies of the past. According to Pretorius
(2007:31), a sophisticated education system for whites was in place, but
millions of adult South Africans (mainly black persons) were functionally
illiterate. Moreover, millions of South African children "endured school
conditions resembling those of the most impoverished states of Africa"
(Pretorius 2007:31). Since 1994, far-reaching reforms have taken place with the
aim of breaking down the structures of apartheid and addressing educational
inequalities and handicaps, as well as providing equal opportunities and rights
for all learners (Duvenhage, 2006:133; DoE, 2001:1-49).
In this study,
enrolment numbers and levels, as well as language and educational matters,
will be viewed from a linear, comparative perspective. The focus is firstly
upon the why, the how, and the successes, failures and consequences of
language and compulsory-education policies and practices during the apartheid
period.
Secondly, it will be
established why and how the said aspects have
changed since 1994. Successes and failures, as
well as consequences of policies will be subjected to
scrutiny. In the discussion, the political, economic and ideological points of
departure underlying the changes will be investigated. Lastly, the challenges
offered by education will be examined (cf. Cowen's, 2000:339, view that
transitiology informs us about the "spirit of the battles still to
come").
The dual focus of
this study was chosen purposely because these areas enjoy the attention of
comparative educationalists and policy specialists. For example, various
researchers stress the importance of the home language as medium of instruction
(Heugh, 2006:63-73; Pretorius & Naudé, 2002:439-449), as well as the
political economic and socio-cultural dimensions of language in education (De
Klerk, 2002:2-13; Desai, 2001:323-338; Mda, 2001:162-166; Beukes, 1995:70-114;
Chick, 1992:271-292). The spotlight regularly falls on enrolment numbers and
levels by education specialists (cf. Coombs, 1985; Uribe &
Murname, 2006:241-277; Kent, Alvarez & Ramirez, 2000:151-206; Wolhuter,
2007).
Language as
educational matter
South Africa is one
of the most heterogeneous countries in the world. The Bill of Human Rights, as
contained in the South African Constitution (RSA, 1996a: Section 30) guarantees
equal status for all eleven official languages. The
languages are Pedi, Sesotho, Tswana, Swazi, Venda, Tsonga, Afrikaans, English,
Ndebele, Xhosa, and Zulu. Zulu is the home language of 23.8% of South Africans,
followed by Xhosa with 17.6%, Afrikaans with 13.3%, Pedi with 9.4%, and both
English and Tswana with 8.2% (Pretorius, 2006:32). Although English is regarded
as the language of commerce, technology, education and training, it is the home
language of only 8.2% of South Africans. In order to understand this state of
affairs, it is necessary to provide a brief overview of the South African
language-in-education (cf. Truter, 2004: 1-166 for a full discussion of
this policy during the years 1910-1961).
Section 37 of the
Constitution of the Union of South Africa gives recognition to the principle
of Dutch (and later Afrikaans) and English as medium of instruction for white
learners. Home-language instruction had been — with the exception of Natal,
where the choice regarding the language of instruction lay with the parents —
compulsory for all white learners up to and including Standard 4. After South
Africa had become a republic (1961), the arrangements with regard to the
medium of instruction were upheld in white schools (Chick, 1992:275-276). Act
39 of 1969 brought about uniformity in all four provinces. Home-language
instruction, whether in Afrikaans or English, became the norm (Beukes,
1995:42).
The Bantu Education
Act, Act 47 of 1953, brought about two totally separate education systems, one
for white and one for black learners. According to Truter (2004:164), this
resulted in a dichotomy of two separate cultures that functioned separately
from kindergarten up to university level. This was also the case with the
language policy, because there was a separate system in the language policy for
white and black learners.1 The Bantu Education Act determined
that the use of the home language as medium of instruction was compulsory up to
and including Standard 6. Both Afrikaans and English were compulsory school
subjects from the first year of school. From Standard 7, English and Afrikaans
were used as medium of instruction on a 50:50 basis (Chick, 1992:275).
Regardless of the educational advantage of home language instruction,
there was much resistance to the implementation of this policy:
In the minds of the
black community, such advantage was overshadowed by the realisation that
educational motives were secondary to political ones. Consistent with apartheid
ideology, mother-tongue instruction prepared the different language groups for
separate existence … the policy served to divide and rule black people (Chick,
1992:275).
Those who opposed the
language policy of the National Party (NP) government shared the view that the
policy not only had negative consequences, but would also lead to the economic
and educational disempowerment of black people. Desai (2001:330) stated that
"the use of African languages … was often perceived as an attempt to
ghettoize African learners and deny them access to the mainstream of South
African life". Furthermore, the policy placed a ceiling on opportunities
for development, because it was expected of black people to acquire academic
skills in two "foreign" languages (Chick, 1992:275).
The ideological
resistance to Afrikaans, which was seen as the language of the oppressor,
culminated in the 1976 uprisings. This led to the scrapping of Afrikaans, as
well as black home languages as medium of instruction in black schools
(Truter, 2004:164). After the uprisings, black schools, in accordance with Act
90 of 1979, followed a policy of decreasing bilingualism. Consequently, a start
was made with instruction through the medium of the black home language, but
gradually this was replaced with English as medium of instruction (Truter,
2004:163; Beukes, 1995:53; Chick, 1992:276). Official 1978 statistics (cited in
Beukes, 1995:53) indicated that during that year, more than 96% of all black
learners were taught through the medium of English from Standard 5 onwards.
During freedom
movement gatherings, the 1985 National Forum and the 1990 Harare Language
Workshop, amongst others, consultations with regard to language in education
took place. During these gatherings the resistance to Afrikaans, the importance
of English and the necessity of the development of the indigenous African
languages dominated discussions (Chick, 1992:276-279). Already as early as
1955, the ANC (s.a.:1), as expressed in the Freedom Charter, held
the view that "all people shall have equal right to use their own
languages". Education legislation, as well as policy documents that were
accepted after the 1994 elections, would not only make provision for this principle,
but would also strive to accommodate the language preferences of learners.
The South African
Schools Act (RSA, 1996b: Section 6) and the National Education Policy (RSA,
1996c: Section 3(4)(m)) have as a basis the right to education for all and the
right to education in the language choice of the learner or the learner's
parents (where this education is fairly feasible), which is stipulated in the
Constitution (RSA 1996a: Section 30). The former proves to Duvenhage (2006:136)
that access to basic education for all, as well as the right to education in
the language of the learner's choice is very high on the list of transformation
priorities of the ANC government.
Note 27;The ANC government
regards language as an instrument to advance education and political
transformation and to establish democracy. For this reason, the Department of
Education (DoE, 2001:29) is committed to the promotion of multilingualism:
"Speaking the language of other people not only facilitates meaningful communication,
but also builds openness and respect as barriers are broken down". Where the NP government had, amongst other things,
promoted Afrikaans as an objective, the ANC government was in favour of the
promotion of African languages: "Given the historical onus on black
learners to learn English and Afrikaans, it is reciprocally important now that
non-African learners acquire at least one African language" (DoE, 2001:
29). However, this aim was little more that political rhetoric because:
Competence in an
African language has, to a great extent, seemed irrelevant regarding access to
higher education, appointments or promotions in the civil service and public
debate in parliament. Multilingualism that has been
implemented on a symbolic level in the new South Africa has not yet become
viable on a material level (Plüddermann, 2006:78).
According to Heugh
(2006:63), education changes after 1994 contained the promise of justice, the
promotion and development of multilingualism and home-language instruction,
parental choice and a cognitively enriched curriculum. After a thorough
analysis of the policy implementation plan Heugh, however, reaches the
conclusion that the education and language acquisition theory upon which the
language of instruction policy has to be based, has been ignored or presented
incorrectly. According to her, this may result in the current education
practice promising failure and unjustness on a scale that will allow apartheid
education to appear good in comparison (Heugh, 2006: 73).Note 27;On the contrary, De Klerk (2004:66) reaches the
conclusion, after a fundamental analysis of the education-in-language policy
of 1997, that the successful implementation of the policy can contribute to the
establishment of an education system aimed at achieving
- a fair and equal education system;
- the correction of the legacy of the past;
- the attainment of quality education for all
South African citizens; and
- the endeavour to maintain education in South
Africa for the future.
In this study we
looked at, amongst other aspects, how an attempt was made after 1994 to use
language-in-education to effect political, social and economic transformation
in South Africa. Political considerations, the social and economic power of
English, the negative social ascriptions to the African languages and
Afrikaans, ignorance about the advantages of home-language instruction, and the
problems with the practical implementation of home language instruction
in multilingual communities (Webb, 2006:45-46; De Klerk, 2002:5-7) resulted in
the ANC's education language policy's failure to implement multilingualism and
the promotion of African languages. On the other hand, Note 27;English is still seen as the key to economic,
political and social success (Painter &
Baldwin, 2004:7).
After the coming to
power of the NP under DF Malan in 1948, the development of Afrikaans was
prioritised to establish and extend the power base of Afrikaans speakers on the
political and economic terrain. This support for Afrikaans was withdrawn after
1994 (Nxumalo, 2000:123; Balfour, 1999:103). Nxumalo (2000:124) is of the
opinion that the ANC government aims "to redress the past linguistic
imbalances by means of reconciliation". On the other hand, Smit and
Oosthuizen (2006:521-522) contend that the ANC government followed a policy of
multilingualism at the cost of monolingualism. According to these authors,
this has led to various court cases between governing bodies of the
Afrikaans-medium schools and the provincial departments of education. Antjie
Krog (1998:99) views Afrikaans as "the price Afrikaners will have to pay
for Apartheid". The need for quality teaching creates great pressure on
Afrikaans Section 21 schools to make access possible for all learners by also
offering a stream of English-medium classes (Duvenhage, 2006:137). During the
period 1993 to 2003, the number of exclusively Afrikaans schools in South
Africa decreased from 1,396 to 844 (Giliomee & Schlemmer, 2006:119). The
recent court ruling in the well publicised case of Ermelo High School (2009) is
an example where ideology foundered on political-juridical realities; when the
ruling upheld the power of school governing bodies (vested in them by the
South African Schools Act) to decide on language policy.
With reference to the
preceding, Smit and Oosthuizen (2006:521) write that the provincial education
authorities' policy of encouraging and even enforcing single-medium,
primarily Afrikaans, schools to change their language policy to double-medium
or parallel-medium Afrikaans/English, does not contribute to the extension of
language diversity, but to the promotion of English at the expense of minority
languages. According to Miller (2003:35), the fact that the majority of parents
and learners choose English and not their home language as medium of
instruction, sends a message to black learners that the indigenous African
languages and cultures are inferior. This message is reinforced by some former
Model C schools where even the use of indigenous African languages is
prohibited during informal discussions (Painter & Baldwin, 2004:7).
Up to and with the
acceptance of the 1996 Constitution, South Africa had only two official
languages. Even so, up to and with the acceptance of Act 90 of 1979, some of
the African languages were developed as academic languages by virtue of the
fact that they were used as languages of instruction in black schools. Although
there have been eleven, and not only two, official languages since 1996,
government efforts to promote multilingualism are not effected in practice
(Balfour, 1999:108). Balfour (1999:110) rightly remarks that "while
Afrikaans schools are being forced to become dual-medium establishments, no
similar move has been made to make English schools dual-medium establishments,
where Zulu and English, for example, are used". Besides the challenges
that the development of an African language would pose, the negative legacy of
the 1953 Bantu Education Act has resulted in the chances being slim that there
will be a (great) demand for the use of African languages as languages of
instruction in the future or even in the distant future.
Besides the
deep-seated fear that the use of (several) African languages could lead to
division, the perception that African languages are inferior, the lack of
infrastructure and the high cost of the development of languages (Mda,
2000:162-167; Chick, 1992:283), Desai (2001:326) mentions that as long as
African languages are not used in the legislative, executive and juridical government
structures, "they are not going to be regarded with pride by those who use
them and will continue to have a low status". Desai (2001:326) warns that
it could lead to the marginalisation of those with these home languages.
As a result of the
antagonism of the majority of South African learners towards Afrikaans, which
they viewed as the language of the oppressor, English was the language of
choice for these learners after the 1976 uprising. English maintained this
privileged position after 1994, because "English … is so indelibly
inscribed within new constellations of power in South Africa" (Balfour,
1999:105).
Prior to 1994 the
education policies and practices in South Africa were a reflection of the
political dispensation in the country. Black and white learners not only
had separate schools, but also separate policies regarding the medium of
instruction. Note 27;Political and economic considerations
played a key role in this regard with resistance to the language policy leading
to far-reaching changes. Only after 1997, the language preferences of learners in
South Africa received any recognition for the first time. After 1994, in the spirit of democracy, official,
as well as education, status was given to eleven languages. Deep-seated
distrust and fear, that home-language instruction would lead to impoverishment,
social and political isolation and disempowerment, resulted in the majority of
South African learners preferring English as language of instruction and not
their home languages. The education-in-language situation in the classroom has
therefore changed very little since 1994.
Learners are still
instructed through the medium of either English or Afrikaans. There is very
little evidence of multilingualism. On the contrary, the position of English
has been strengthened at the expense of Afrikaans and other indigenous
languages. Antjie Krog's (1998:99) previously quoted comment that Afrikaners
will have to sacrifice Afrikaans as part of their burden for apartheid, and
Heugh's (2006:73) warning that the current language practices promise failure
and injustice on a scale that will let apartheid education look good by
comparison, point to "battles still to come" (Cowen, 2000:339).
Enrolment numbers and
levels
Enrolment numbers and
levels, in particular the inequalities between white and black, were some of
the main points of criticism by the ANC inner circle with regard to the
education system prior to 1994 (Steyn et al. 2003:24; Nkabinde
1997:52; Christie 1991:114-132). Before 1994, compulsory education was
implemented fully only with regard to white and to a certain degree to the
Indian and coloured population groups (Claassen, 1995:472). Although there was
legislation making school attendance compulsory for black children in areas
where school committees requested it, compulsory education existed only for a
small section of this population group (Claassen, 1995:472). A limiting factor
was the lack of funds to implement universal compulsory education. The state
expenditure per learner was as follows in 1993: R1,659 for black, R2,902 for
coloured, R3,702 for Indian and R4,372 for white learners (Nkabinde, 1997:44).
Against the
background of the preceding, it is therefore understandable that the Freedom
Charter already declared in 1955 that "The doors of learning
shall be opened to all" (ANC s.a.:1). Two of the cornerstones of the
education dispensation after 1994 were democratisation and equalisation
(Wolhuter, 1999). Two policy documents that addressed this matter after 1994
were the 1995 White Paper for Education and Training and the 1996 Schools Act. Chapter
13 of the 1995 White Paper declares that, in the light of the fact that the
right to basic education is recognised for everyone, the government is
committed to ensure access to education up to Grade 9 for all learners (DoE,
1995:73). Section 3(1) of the South African Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996,
stipulates that every child becomes schoolable from the first school day of the
year in which he/she reaches the age of seven up to the last day of the year in
which he/she reaches the age of 15 or has passed Grade 9.
Progress after 1994,
with enrolment numbers at the primary and secondary levels of education, is
indicated in Table 1.
During the six-year
period from 1998 to 2004 primary and secondary enrolment numbers increased by
10.5% and 31.8%, respectively. Especially at secondary level there was a large
increase.
The racial break-down
of the growth in enrolment numbers is indicated in Table 2 (primary level) and Table 3 (secondary level).
Among the black and
coloured sections of the population there was a positive increase in
primary-school learner numbers between 1998 and 2004, whilst among the white
and Indian sections of the population there was a moderate decrease. At
secondary level, there was a phenomenal increase in learner numbers in the
black and coloured sections of the population, and a moderate increase in the
white section of the population, whilst the numbers of Indian learners
decreased moderately.
The growth in numbers
at secondary-education level, but in particular at primary-education level,
must be seen together with the following three factors, namely, migration
patterns, learners over the official age in schools, and natural population
increase of the relevant age groups. With regard to migration patterns, it
must be borne in mind that since 1994, a steady stream of people from the white
section of the population has emigrated while, with regard to the black
component of the population, there was a strong influx of immigrants from other
African countries. No official statistics exist (or, at the very least, they
represent a gross under-estimation of both as a result of many non-official
emigrants or illegal immigrants), but it is often stated that since 1994,
nearly one million white South Africans have left the country, whilst at the
same time between eight and nine million foreigners (mainly from other African
countries) have flocked into the country (Steyn, 2007:16). With regard to
natural growth, it should be noted that birth figures regarding the black,
coloured and Indian sections of the population reached a climax in 1990 and
have since decreased by approximately 25,000, 2,000 and 500, respectively, each
year (Wolhuter, 2000:155). In the case of the white population, birth figures
had already peaked before 1990 and have decreased annually by approximately
2,500 (Wolhuter, 2000:155). Lastly, it should be taken into account that in
many South African schools learners are older than the official age for the
specific grade level. According to the World Bank, 6% and 4%, respectively,
male and female enrolments in primary schools in South Africa are repeating
their grades (World Bank, 2006:94).
The indicator net
enrolment ratio (i.e. number of learners of the official age, divided by the
population numbers for the age group, expressed as a percentage) intercepts
three sets of problems. The growth in net entry levels from 1995 to 2004 is
indicated in Table 4.
Since 1995, the net
enrolment ratios at primary-school level have decreased from 95.0% to 87.4%.
Seen in the light of the fact that basic education — internationally, as well
as according to the Constitution in South Africa — is regarded as a basic human
right, this phenomenon is cause for concern. Research with regard to the
causes and handling thereof cannot be implemented soon enough. On the other
hand, the net enrolment level at secondary-school level shows an increase: from
56.0% in 1995 to 67.2% in 2004.
The expansion of
education participation was one of the strongest driving forces behind the
education reforms after 1994. There was indeed an impressive growth in
enrolment numbers in primary and, particularly, secondary education. With
regard to the various sections of the population, the black section, followed
by the coloured section, showed the largest increase, with the increase at
secondary level being phenomenal. White and Indian enrolment numbers showed a
slight decrease, which can probably be explained from the demographic dynamics,
natural (declining) birth numbers and migration. In spite of the impressive
growth in enrolment numbers, the net enrolment level has decreased. Seen in
the light of the worldwide campaign for basic education for all (Education
for All), this is a distressing phenomenon. On the other hand, net
enrolment ratios at secondary-school level have shown an encouraging growth
since 1994.
Conclusion
After 1994, the ANC
government emphasised in various policy documents the role that education
should play in the transformation of South African society. The establishment
of a non-racial education dispensation in which all participants play a part
and the promotion of multilingualism were some of the issues prioritised by the
ANC government as a reaction against the NP government's education policy.
From this
transitiology study of language as an education concern, it appears that the
1997 education language policy promotes multilingualism and recognises the
democratic rights of the majority of South African learners. At grass-roots
level the picture looks totally different Note 27; The majority (black) of learners still prefer English — and not their home
language — as medium of instruction. Moreover,
it seems that for many Afrikaans is still the scapegoat for apartheid. The
Supreme Court's Ermelo High School ruling, referred to earlier, provides hope
that a monolingual (English) education dispensation may be avoided in South
Africa if role-players are prepared to engage in the struggle for the
preservation of the other ten official languages as media of instruction. This
study has therefore underlined the "battles still to come" (Cowen,
2000:339).
The vision that the
ANC had in 1955, namely, that "the doors of learning shall be opened to
all", is embodied in the 1995 White Paper for Education and Training and
the 1996 Schools Act. Both primary and secondary school enrolment numbers
showed an increase of 10.5% and 31.8%, respectively, (Table 1) after the ANC government came to
power. The net enrolment ratios (1995-2004) show a decrease from 95.0% to 87.4%
for primary education; secondary education enrolment numbers, however, show an
increase from 56.0% to 67.2% (Table 4). In spite of the latter positive
statistics regarding secondary education, research is necessary regarding the
concern-raising phenomenon of the net decrease in primary enrolment ratios.
Although education played an important symbolic role in the dismantling of
apartheid, education laws and statements will be nothing more than
fine-sounding political rhetoric until such time as the universal aim of
'education for all' has become a practical reality in South Africa. Prevailing
political, economic, social, and health realities predict an uphill battle for
the establishment of a universal basic education for all South African
children.
Note 29;The lack of success
of ideology-driven educational reform, regarding the issues of medium of
instruction and enrolment growth, gives credence to the case of forsaking
ideology in favour of piecemeal engineering, where civil society is granted
full space to play its part, in an atmosphere of open society and democracy.
This is, after all, the foundation stone of the new state.
Note
1. In the discussion
of language as an educational matter in this article, attention has only been
paid to black and white education. Prior to 1994, members of the coloured and
Indian populations also had separate education systems, as well as consequently
their own education-in-language policies (cf. Beukes, 1995: 56-69).
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