In Search of Best Practice in South African Desegregated Schools ppt

Data analysis 10 Phase 2 The case studies: Peering into the desegregated classroom 10Data analysis 11Profiles of the case-study schools 11Teacher profiles for the case-study phase 18 A s

IN SOUTH AFRICAN DESEGREGATED SCHOOLS

Copyedited by Judy Tobler

Typeset by Stacey Gibson

Cover by Flame Design

Print management by comPress

Distributed in Africa by Blue Weaver

Distributed in North America by Independent Publishers Group (IPG)

Call toll-free: (800) 888 4741; Fax: +1 (312) 337 5985

Data analysis 10 Phase 2 The case studies: Peering into the desegregated classroom 10Data analysis 11

Profiles of the case-study schools 11Teacher profiles for the case-study phase 18

A synthesis of school profiles 20

Phase 1 The survey: Perceptions of ‘best practice’ in desegregated South African schools 21

Responses of teachers 21Responses of learners 24Responses of parents 25Responses of members of school governing bodies 27Responses of members of school management teams 29 Phase 2 The case studies: Peering into the desegregated classroom 32Setting the scene: Classroom climate 32

Curriculum delivery 34Interactions in a class of diverse learners 38Management of a class of diverse learners 41The teacher as a role model 42

Conclusion: Effective practices for teaching a class of diverse learners 44

African schools 45Transcending the theory/practice nexus 45Teacher capacity development in multicultural and diverse classrooms 45Teaching and learning material 47

The nature and extent of social interaction in the school 47School support 48

Phase 2 The case studies: Peering into the desegregated classroom 49The teaching and learning environment 49

Pedagogy: How learning takes place 50Social interaction and diversity management 52

Figure 3.1 Distribution of respondents by race 7

Figure 3.2 Distribution of respondents by gender 7

Figure 3.3 Silverstream Primary teacher and learner profile 2004 12

Figure 3.4 Riverwood Secondary teacher and learner profile 2004 14

Figure 3.5 Gandhi Secondary teacher and learner profile 2004 16

Figure 3.6 Mbongeni Primary teacher and learner profile 2004 17

Figure 4.1 Teacher responses to workshops, instructional materials

and learner grouping 21Figure 4.2 Teacher responses to what constitutes ‘best practice’ 22

Figure 4.3 Teacher practices as perceived by learners 24

Figure 4.4 Parents’ perceptions of school practices 26

Figure 4.5 School governing bodies’ perceptions of ‘best practice’ 27

The members of the research team, in alphabetical order, were:

Brutus Malada, Human Sciences Research Council

Rakgadi Phatlane, University of Pretoria

Makola Phurutse, Human Sciences Research Council

Ramodungoane Tabane, University of Pretoria

Every moment in life is filled with small events that become its histories The small

events, at least some, grow to become big events It is these small events that are

sometimes fascinating, and to witness their growth in slow motion is enlightening,

instructive and exhilarating These fledgling efforts always coexist with powerful contrary

traditions that may retard their fruition, even destroy them So, proper nourishment is vital

for survival

In the short democratic moment we have had since 1994, the mega-stories have

occupied large spaces and captured the public imagination Examples are De Klerk’s

speech announcing the official unbanning of political prisoners and detainees; and the

inauguration of Nelson Mandela as the first president of the democratic republic These,

by all measures, are big historical events

This monograph represents an attempt to record what could be regarded as nascent

events in a few schools that have the potential to grow and to graduate from minority

status to generalised best practice They can be imagined as a few flickering candles that,

if properly nourished, can spread and become a million luminous candle lights

One of the daunting challenges facing South Africa in the contemporary period is that of

achieving social cohesion Schools and all other sites of learning are at the cutting edge

of the project to weave a common identity, based on democratic values and principles

that simultaneously respect difference; this is a conceptual/philosophical formulation

that is at variance with the prevailing and undemocratic assimilationist practices seen in

many desegregated schools in post-1994 South Africa It is this challenge that motivated

us to convene a colloquium in 2003 to discuss the current state of school desegregation

and innovative ways to forge ahead in improving the present paltry state of affairs It

was, by most accounts, a worthwhile interaction that resulted in the publication of the

proceedings titled Reflections on school integration

Three recommendations that were high on the colloquium priority list of areas needing

further research attention were identified, namely:

• the need to investigate the degree to which visual representation in school textbooks

reflects the diversity of the social world;

• how teacher education addresses diversity in education; and

• the need to track patterns of school desegregation

We then undertook to produce a trilogy in monograph form The first was Carolyn

McKinney’s Textbooks for diverse learners, which was published in 2004 The second

monograph, authored by Crispin Hemson and titled Teacher Education: The challenge of

diversity in South Africa, was published in 2006 Both were published by the HSRC Press

This monograph completes the trilogy

A second colloquium was held in 2006, and the proceedings will be published sometime

in 2008

Above all, the aim of this mosaic of related research in diversity is to enhance social

cohesion and to strengthen and deepen a culture of human rights and democracy through

the medium of education Hopefully, these combined research studies will have an

impact on policy reform and better practice in schools

The colloquium also expressed an interest in continuing the research dialogue Individuals and institutions are currently carrying out a number of research activities around a variety

of dimensions relating to diversity and social cohesion

We wish to thank the South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in

Development (SANPAD) for providing the grant that made this research possible

Had it not been for the co-operation of the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng

provincial education departments and their district offices, the data could not have been

captured We wish to express our sincere gratitude and to thank them for recognising

the importance of evidence-based research as a basis for sound policy formulation and

practice At the ground level, we enjoyed similar co-operation and support from school

principals, teachers, learners, members of school governing bodies and parents in general

Our Dutch collaborator, Maaike Hajer, has been most co-operative and made critical

inputs during the research process Her selflessness and generosity have been instructive

Various other individuals have assisted in different ways: Linda Chisholm, in earlier

reflections that gave birth to the research process aimed at investigating issues of

diversity and social cohesion within the school context; Carolyn McKinney, in injecting

the necessary energy at the point of conception; and Jonathan Jansen, for his unflinching

support

Processing of the quantitative data would have been an extremely daunting task, but was

made more palatable by the technical assistance offered by the University of Pretoria’s

Department of Statistics We wish to thank in particular, Rina Owens, who was always

cheerful and available Yu Ke availed herself to perform some technical operations that

made the graphics intelligible, and thus deserves a word of gratitude It is important,

however, to indicate that none of the dramatis personae are responsible for any errors

and omissions that may be found in the report That responsibility rests squarely on

In the last decade or so, South African schools have been undergoing a series of crucial transformations These include introducing a framework for improving access to basic education for all, abolishing laws that restricted some learners from enrolling in certain schools

on the basis of race, reformed curriculum, upgrading the infrastructure, improving teacher and management competencies, and establishing a national qualifications framework Notable challenges resulting from decades of deliberate neglect of certain sectors of the population are learner achievement and race and racism in schools The concept of race and the practice of racism have been the defining signature of South African society including, crucially, schooling, where the drama of identity formation was and will continue to be most prominent.This study explored issues of ‘best practice’ in desegregated schools, and observed that despite a number of ongoing challenges to innovation, there are a growing number of school managers, teachers and parents who are grappling with issues of diversity and inequality in ways that provide the possibility for changing institutional cultures

The specific objectives of the study were:

• To solicit the opinions and perceptions of stakeholders within the school sectors about diversity as well as to determine the demographic profile of selected desegregated schools

• To identify and document the practices of teachers who are addressing issues of diversity and inequality, including race (and racism), gender and class, and who typify different types of innovation and challenge

Research questions

The following research questions guided the study:

• What ‘best practice’ in schools with diverse learners can be identified in dealing with issues of diversity and inequality such as race, class and gender in desegregated schools?

• How do schools, and particularly teachers, address the phenomenon of cultural diversity and effectively facilitate instruction for all students?

Research methodology

The study was divided into two phases In Phase 1, using a combination of purposive and representative sampling, a survey instrument was administered in nine schools in three provinces (Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal) The survey sought to elicit the perceptions and opinions of various stakeholders (school management teams [SMTs], teachers, learners, parents and school governing bodies [SGBs]) on what they regarded

as ‘best practice’ in a desegregated school environment Phase 2 consisted of classroom observation over a three-day period, semi-structured interviews with teachers, and focus group interviews with learners In analysing the data for Phase 1 and Phase 2, codes were developed for the different questions The codes were then grouped into themes and sub-themes, and are discussed accordingly

Findings

Phase 1 The survey: Perceptions of ‘best practice’ in desegregated South

African schools

The study found that in all but three of the nine desegregated schools, the learner

population had become quite diverse, with fairly high numbers of learners from

previously disadvantaged schools In contrast, the profile of the teaching staff was

In terms of school and classroom practices across the three provinces and nine schools,

the majority of respondents (about 78 per cent) pointed out that their schools did not

discriminate and were sensitive to learners’ racial and cultural backgrounds Only about

15 per cent of respondents, concentrated in two schools and two provinces, pointed out

that there was subtle discrimination and that learners did not have a sense of belonging

A significant number of teachers (about 60 per cent) indicated that they used materials

that were inclusive of all cultures and did not depict any of them in stereotypical terms

In addition, many teachers (80 per cent) suggested that training about teaching in diverse

classrooms makes a considerable difference in desegregated schools The majority of

respondents across the different categories (teachers, learners, SMTs, SGBs and parents)

argued that they received very little support from the Department of Education on how to

manage schools with learners from diverse cultural backgrounds

Phase 2 The case studies: Peering into the desegregated classroom

School and classroom observation gave a picture of an environment that was

complimentary towards and inclusive of all cultures Some teachers ensured that their

classrooms were made colourful with educational posters reflective of different cultures

and religions

One of the key findings of the case-study phase was the personality of the teacher, which

was noted for encouraging learners to be open and to express themselves without fear

of being ridiculed The personality of four of the teachers whose lessons were observed

was characterised by openness, sensitivity to learners’ needs and valuing their inputs The

personality of these teachers also revealed much about their approach to teaching, as it

was observed that they valued learner contributions to classroom discussions or activities

The study, however, noted two teachers whose personality and approach to teaching did

not encourage learners to participate or to feel free to raise issues

Learners found learning to be meaningful and exciting when the teacher took the

initiative to incorporate their social worlds into the lesson This afforded learners the

opportunity to relate new knowledge to their existing schema and to affirm and place

value on their identity The study also found that the aspect of ‘edutainment’ – in the

sense of making learning fun, especially in the primary schools – made the content of the

lessons accessible to the learners

Recommendations

Greater effort should be made to diversify the profile of the teaching staff in desegregated

schools In the short term, a moratorium should be implemented to target Africans for all

new appointments, taking into account their qualifications in the identified field

Stakeholders at schools should be empowered to challenge and interrogate the power

relations at play at schools In this way, the current assimilatory approach could be

replaced by an approach that allows all learners to feel a sense of belonging and being

at home, of having their identity validated by the culture of the institution This would

encourage all learners to take ownership of the school, as they are able to identify and

see themselves reflected in the daily life of the school

The core of teacher education programmes should be structured along the principles

of educating for diversity to ensure that the identity of all learners is validated in the classroom Teacher education programmes should not just address diversity in an additive

or celebratory mode but should seek to interrogate the power relations at play

A database of ‘best practice’ should be developed to create a resource pool of exemplars that teachers could access to improve their professionalism

The national Department of Education, in collaboration with provincial departments

of education, local authorities and school governing bodies should design training programmes and provide effective support at the classroom level to ensure healthy learning environments

Principals should receive training in managing and leading for diversity

DET Department of Education and Training

DoE Department of Education

GS Gandhi Secondary

MP Mbongeni Primary

RS Riverwood Secondary

SGB School governing body

SMT School management team

SP Silverstream Primary

SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

Note: Names of South African population groups

During the apartheid regime, legislation divided the South African populace into

four distinct population groups based on racial classification Although the notion of

population groups is now legal history, it is not always possible to gauge the effects of

past discriminatory practices, and the progress of policies designed to eradicate them,

without reference to it We have thus used the terms ‘African’, ‘coloured’, ‘Indian’ and

‘white’ where it is pertinent to the analysis of data In contexts where we wish to signify

all three formerly disenfranchised groups, we have used the term ‘black’

The research sets out to explore ‘best practice’ in desegregated South African schools, and

observes that despite and in the midst of a number of ongoing challenges to innovation

there are a growing number of school managers, teachers and parents who are grappling

with issues of diversity and inequality in ways that provide the possibility for changing

institutional cultures to reflect a more inclusive paradigm

There are many studies that indicate lingering attitudes and practices still prevalent in

many school environments, despite bold policy pronouncements We are intrigued by

how societies have changed over millennia In this regard, Wallerstein observed that,

‘Change is eternal Nothing changes Both clichés are “true” Structures are those coral

reefs of human relations which have stable existence over relatively long periods of time

But structures too are born, develop and die’ (1974: 3) As social scientists interested in

the deep minutiae of social change, we further draw from Gladwell’s incisive insight in

his The tipping point (2000) about ‘how little things can make a big difference’.1 It is thus

worth identifying and exploring the, admittedly, small seismic tremors that could signal

possibilities of full fruition or common practice in the long term

We concur with Gay’s argument against the conventional orthodoxy that ‘good teaching is

devoid of cultural tenets and that respecting the individual differences of students is really

what counts in effective teaching, not race, ethnicity, culture or gender’ (Gay 2000: 23)

We also argue in favour of identifying ‘best practice’ that filters curriculum content and

teaching strategies through the cultural frames of reference of learners, to make the

content more personally meaningful and thus easier to master

There is a series of events that serves as a backdrop to this study on ‘best practice’ at

schools with diverse learner populations One, the study is informed by the political

transformation that began slightly more than a decade ago, an ongoing transformation

that has triggered a series of alterations in the political economy of South Africa, including

education Two, in the case of education, systemic changes such as the consolidation

of a fragmented, racially and ethnically based education system have ushered in a set

of reforms with broad implications Three, and specifically related to this study, are

a Constitution, legislation and policies that forbid discrimination on the basis of race,

gender, religion, language, and so on Four, this anti-discriminatory body of laws and

policies precipitated a process that accelerated changes in the demographic character of

learner populations in a growing number of schools Finally, the changed demographic

profile in learner populations suggested the need for paradigmatic, pedagogical, attitudinal

and behavioural changes in the teaching and learning environment

Given these events, it became necessary to look into what is actually happening in

selected schools that have diverse learner populations A few foundational studies have

been conducted that looked at the problems facing desegregated schools (Carrim 1992,

1995; Christie 1990; Metcalfe 1991; Naidoo 1996; Soudien 1998; Zafar 1998) These studies

considered the rigidities of institutional cultures in the face of changing environmental

circumstances, the persistence of racial attitudes and resistance to change In our view, it

seemed equally important, if not more so, to begin to identify emergent school ecologies

and pedagogical practices that seem to be essential for healthy and productive teaching

1 Subtitle to Malcolm Gladwell’s The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference Barry Glassner of the

Los Angeles Times Book Review captures the essence of the book by pointing out that, ‘Gladwell argues for the

proposition that minor alterations, carefully conceived and adeptly enacted, can produce major consequences for

individuals, organisations, and communities’ (a statement in the book’s blurb).

and learning environments, especially in schools that were previously racially and

ethnically exclusive, as they draw more and more learners from diverse backgrounds What happens there is of material interest not only to desegregated schools but also to all other schools Accordingly, this study set out to explore ‘best practice’ and innovations in desegregated or deracialised schools in South Africa

It is imperative to consider the issue of what constitutes ‘best practice’ that is essential for success We are aware of the problematic and contentious nature of the concept ‘best practice’ There is a view, correctly, that there is no ‘best practice’ that is effective with all students in all contexts (Nieto 2003) A suspicion is also expressed about the proliferation

of vogues of dubious credibility purporting to be the panacea for the ills or malpractices that afflict instructional practice Having cautioned against this mainly dubious tide, there is, nevertheless, recognition that ‘there are practices that may be effective with many students’ (Gay 2000; Nieto 2003) It thus becomes incumbent on researchers and practitioners to continually search for effective ways of teaching and learning that go beyond the received pedagogical verities that defy the need for appropriate adjustments

or improvements required by changed circumstances

Underpinning a proper conception of ‘best practice’ is, therefore, the recognition of the complexity of diversity (including multiple identities and related differences) and that in heterogeneous learning environments, ‘teaching is a contextual and situational process’ that requires the consideration of ‘ecological factors, such as prior experiences, community settings, cultural backgrounds and ethnic identities of teachers and

students’ (Gay 2000: 21) In recent years a body of literature has emerged based on contemporary understandings of the complexity of the learning process, especially in highly heterogeneous environments, that calls for culturally responsive pedagogies (Banks

& McGee-Banks 2005; Diamond & Moore 1995; Gay 2000; Shor 1992) It is against this backdrop that the following research questions for this study were posed:

• What ‘best practice’ in schools with diverse learners can be identified in

dealing with issues of diversity and inequality, such as race, class and gender

in desegregated schools?

• How do teachers address the phenomenon of cultural diversity and effectively facilitate instruction for all students?

Background and context

The process of school desegregation and the resulting challenges of implementation

remain an area of critical importance in multiracial countries This is particularly the case

in societies like South Africa, where for decades the state repressed certain population

groups and neglected their needs With the new democratic government entering its second

decade of administration, it is opportune to take stock of the progress made in addressing

the legacy of school segregation and the challenges that still lie ahead More importantly,

it is necessary to propose appropriate strategies to fast-track school desegregation As we

assess the progress made in regard to school desegregation, it is important that we take into

account experiences from elsewhere in the world, as they are often instructive

In some countries, progress that has been made in school desegregation is being reversed

For example, Kozol, writing in his book, The Shame of the Nation, chronicles in great

detail how thousands of public schools in the United States that were desegregated had

narrowed the achievement gap between black and white students However, the early

1990s witnessed a reversal of this trend due to education policies that were unfriendly

to school integration (2005) Other authors noted similar trends in desegregation and

resegregation (Frankenberg, Lee & Orfield 2003; Orfield 2004) Orfield points out that

schools in the United States are today divided along racial lines, as was the case before

the 1950s: ‘Southern Schools and those in a number of big cities are moving back toward

intensified segregation, now based largely on residential segregation in the metropolitan

areas’ (Orfield 2004: 97) Ironically, given King’s own contribution to the eradication of

segregation, schools such as Martin Luther King Secondary in New York, which were

founded on multicultural and multiracial principles, are now becoming racially segregated

In South Africa, legislation was passed to start the process of school desegregation All

apartheid laws permitting schools to discriminate on the basis of race and other forms

of discrimination, were repealed The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are among the

important documents that disallow institutional discrimination The Constitution of the

Republic of South Africa (Act No 108 of 1996) requires that education be transformed

and democratised in accordance with the values of human dignity, equality, human rights

and freedom, non-racism and non-sexism It guarantees access to a basic education for all

through the provision that ‘everyone has a right to basic education, including adult basic

education’ More specifically, the national Department of Education (DoE) introduced

the South African Schools Act (No 84 of 1996); its major thrust is the principle of

non-discrimination The Act ensures that all learners have a right of access to quality education

without discrimination, and makes schooling compulsory for children aged 7 to 14 years

Learners are allowed access to all public schools without taking into account their race,

culture or parents’ financial standing Additionally, the DoE established a directorate on

Race and Values in education to monitor progress in addressing the legacy of apartheid

education This directorate falls within the branch of Quality Promotion and Development

The issue of legislation, while critical, needs to be treated with caution, as it has been

found that at times there is a disjuncture between legislation and practice Orfield aptly

captures this when he argues that, ‘announcing a policy does not mean the policy is

realized…Legislators often act as if the enactment of a law or the issuance of a regulation

or the statement of a leader actually produces the intended change’ (2004: 101) We need

to pay particular attention to conditions that will enable the successful implementation of

policies Such conditions should be closely studied and delineated in order not to render

policies symbolic This calls for closer attention to the theory/practice nexus

Theoretical and conceptual framework

A review of the literature on what constitutes ‘best practice’ and innovations in classes

of diverse learners has revealed, among others, two strategies as ‘effective practices’ to encourage culturally diverse groups of students These are discussed below

Customisation of the teaching and learning process

It is argued that teachers should modify instruction to facilitate learning among students from diverse cultural groups (Shade, Kelly & Oberg 1997) According to Banks (2000), this would result in creating ‘equitable pedagogy’ that utilises more co-operative learning strategies in class and draws on the language and understandings that students bring to school, to bridge the gap between what students know and what they need to learn The teacher acknowledges and embraces students as they are and builds on the experiences that they bring with them, as referenced in the contextual curriculum planning The teacher should show respect for the backgrounds and experiences of students

Teachers should strive to create what Bigelow et al call a ‘social justice classroom’ (2001: 4) The social justice classroom is dependent on several interlocking components According to their vision, ‘best practice’ is where the curriculum and classroom practice meet the following requirements:

• Grounded in the lives of students: The curriculum should be rooted in the needs and experiences of students

• Critical: The curriculum should equip students to ‘talk back to the world’

• Multicultural, anti-racist and pro-justice: Students should be engaged in a critique of the roots of inequality in curriculum, school structure and the broader society

• Participatory and experiential: The classroom must provoke students to develop their democratic capacities to question, to challenge, to make real decisions and to solve problems collectively

• Hopeful, joyful, kind and visionary: The ways in which we organise classroom life should make students feel significant and cared for by the teacher and by each other

• Activist: Provide students with the opportunity to see themselves as change-makers

• Academically rigorous: Equip students not only to change the world but also to manoeuvre in the one that exists

• Culturally sensitive: Be sensitive to the cultural capital that students bring into the classroom and utilise it as a rich resource in teaching

Contextualised teaching process

According to Gay (2000), teaching is a contextual and situational process that is most effective when ecological factors such as prior experiences, community settings,

cultural backgrounds and ethnic identities of teachers and students are included in its implementation She draws a distinction between the conventional educational ethos and practices that claim that ‘good teaching is devoid of cultural tenets and that respecting the individual differences of students is really what counts in effective teaching, not race, ethnicity, culture or gender’ (Gay 2000: 23) and, on the other hand, a pedagogical paradigm that teaches to and through the personal and cultural strength, the intellectual capabilities and the prior experiences of students She thus advocates a culturally

responsive teaching paradigm that filters curriculum content and teaching strategies through the cultural frames of reference of learners, to make the content more personally meaningful and thus easier to master

the curriculum content and the cultural experiences of ethnically and racially diverse

students Culturally responsive teachers use a variety of approaches to all aspects of the

educational process They consider critical and reciprocal dialogue and participatory

engagement as central to learning They are warm, supportive, understanding and flexible

in their interpersonal relationships with students (Gay 2000)

Banks proposed that teachers should stop conducting ‘business as usual’ or using traditional

conventions; instead, he argued that they should ‘respect the cultural and linguistic capital

of students and change the curriculum so that it will reflect the learning and cultural

styles of students and thus enhance their achievement’ (Banks 1975: 165–166) Cognisant

of the ever-growing complexity of modern societies, characterised by a high level of

heterogeneity, a panel of experts proposed four principles and ten derivative concepts that

should exemplify good learning and teaching environments The four principles are:

1 Students should learn about the complex relationships between unity and diversity

2 Students should learn about the ways in which people…are increasingly

interdependent…and are connected to the economic, political, environmental, and technological changes taking place across the planet

3 Teaching of human rights should underpin citizenship education

4 Students should be taught knowledge about democracy and democratic institutions

and provided opportunities to practice democracy (Banks et al 2005: 11–13) Importantly, these principles are consonant with and undergirded by the declaration in

the 2004 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report titled Cultural Diversity:

Accommodating people’s growing demands for their inclusion in society, for respect of their ethnicity, religion, and language, takes more than democracy and equitable growth Also needed are multicultural policies that recognize differences, champion diversity and promote cultural freedoms… (UNDP 2004)

A trend is emerging in South African research around school desegregation and

integration that suggests an attempt to identify positive ways in which to address the

lingering pedagogical traditions and practices from the apartheid era One example

is McKinney’s (2005) study on learning and support materials Another study on how

diversity is addressed at selected teacher education institutions is by Hemson (2005)

Both studies are situated within the broad research programme that aims to identify ‘best

practice’ and innovations in desegregated schools or even at homogeneous schools

In the search for effective teaching practices, we have given primacy to what a sample of

teachers say and to observations of their practices We have also been guided to a greater

degree by the extant literature and to a limited extent by canvassed expert opinion

It must be noted, however, that this study set out to explore ‘best practice’ in the field,

in terms of desegregated classrooms, and did not aim to enter the research sites with any

preconceived ideas or bias that had been gleaned from the literature or expert opinion

The report focuses on school desegregation in both primary and secondary public

schools, in three provinces School desegregation is extremely important to the success

of South Africa’s development, as it opens opportunities for different races to learn and

understand other cultures

Research methodology

This section describes the research design and methodology used in conducting the study First, an overview of the implementation process is presented; second, the instrument development, sampling, data collection, analysis and interpretation are described

Phase 1 The survey: Perceptions of ‘best practice’ in desegregated South African schools

A survey was conducted at nine research sites to explore what the various stakeholders regarded as ‘best practice’ and innovations Quantitative data obtained from the survey were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) The qualitative data were analysed with identified codes from the existing literature linked to ‘best practice’ Members of the research team, with the help of PhD students in the field of school integration, manually coded the qualitative data The codes that emerged from the data, that is, statements made by participants which could not be coded anywhere under the predetermined codes, were classified as emerging codes and also given categories, which are included in the discussion

Key elements of the Phase 1 survey design included the development of questionnaires, taking into account the national and global literature on school desegregation The questionnaires were administered to learners, parents, teachers and members of the school governing bodies (SGBs) and school management teams (SMTs)

Five questionnaires were developed for members of the SMTs, teachers, learners, parents and SGBs Two separate learner questionnaires were developed to cater for primary and secondary school learners respectively All research instruments were piloted and refined

in line with the type of responses received The piloting of the research instruments prior

to the actual research work increased the validity and reliability of the data collected, as some questions were deleted while others were combined as a result of that process Each questionnaire included both restricted and free-response questions to gain a

comprehensive picture of school integration Closed-ended questions were given five values – 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 – with 1 being good and 5 less desirable

Sampling procedure

The sampling of participants in the study was conducted at two levels First the school, which at a higher level became the primary unit of analysis Second, the individual stakeholder level composed of learners, teachers, parents and SGBs In general, at school level, the sampling procedure adopted a purposive sampling technique, as only schools with a track record of participating in the desegregation project had to be selected

At the second layer of analysis, although a random sample technique was adopted, the sampling procedure was however constructed with particular attention to issues of race, class, gender and geographic location in order to have a representative sample participating in the study

Figures 3.1 and 3.2 below illustrate the distribution of respondents by race and gender respectively The emerging trend in the racial distribution is in congruence with the demographics of the country, with a majority of participants coming from the African

Distribution of respondents by gender (Figure 3.2), illustrates domination by females

in the learner, parent and teacher categories This is in congruence with the national

statistics that show the teaching profession to be predominantly female, especially at

primary schools, and that girls constitute the majority in South African schools However,

when it comes to the SGBs, males are dominant, which could reflect the patriarchal

structure of society

Note: Some total percentages do not come to 100 due to missing data

Figure 3.1: Distribution of respondents by race

100

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Learners Teachers Parents SBGs SMTs

Categories of respondent

Male Female

The following is an analysis of the participation per category of respondents.

Learner profile

The majority of learners in the sampled population were African (38.5%), followed by white learners (20.6%) Coloured and Indian learners constituted a minority (less than 20% each) Overall, the distribution of the learner population followed that of the general population, of which the majority is black, followed by white and coloured, with Indians forming a tiny portion The profile of learners included gender; it was found that about 64% of the sample consisted of girls and only 36% of boys

Parent profile

Figure 3.1 also indicates that the majority of parents in the sample population were Africans (36.4%), followed by white parents (26.8%) The coloured parent population had an overall percentage of 19.9% while Indians made up 12.7% This distribution is not entirely different from that of the general population, with a majority of Africans, followed

by the white, coloured and Indian groupings There were 885 parents who completed the questionnaires from 8 of the 9 schools, with the gender breakdown of 265 (29.8%) male and 620 (69.8%) female

Teacher profile

In contrast to the parent profile, which is roughly representative of the general

population, the teacher profile of the sample schools was skewed, with a higher

percentage of white teachers and relatively few black teachers This indicates that while the learner and parent population has changed substantially to broadly reflect the general population, this is not the case with the teaching population Studies elsewhere have affirmed a fair representation of other population groups in the teaching profession – African Americans and Latinos in the USA and aboriginal people in Australia (Ladson-Billings 1995) Literature suggests that learners of diverse cultures and races need to see their race/cultures reflected in the staff composition This is not to suggest that only those from the same race are better positioned to assist or teach learners That is too simplistic However, having a staff population that is predominantly white in a school with a higher percentage of black learners sends different messages to white and black learners, with the latter not feeling a sense of belonging or being at ‘home’, since there are no cultural

or racial figures of authority that they can identify with or relate to Hence confusing messages are sent to different population groups, which indicate that there is the need to attend to issues of equitable staff composition It is suggested that black learners see the world of school as immensely remote from the home environment, and that realisation imposes immense challenges on black learners’ sense of self

The teacher profile was also analysed according to gender; it was found that the

overwhelming majority of teachers were female (66.7%), in contrast to a low percentage

of male teachers (26.3%) This is not a surprising figure since the majority of teachers

in South Africa are female, especially in the primary schools, which comprise a large proportion of the overall school population The majority of teachers fell within the age category of 31 to 35 (about 20%); age groups of 36 to 40 and 41 to 45 comprised 15% each, while the category of 25 to 30 comprised about 14%

Profiles of the School Governing Bodies

As shown in Figure 3.2, representation in SGBs reflected the racial history of the schools,

with white members dominating the SGBs and constituting 43.2%, followed by coloured

at 29.7%, with Africans and Indians at 13.5% each In terms of gender distribution, the

majority of the SGB members were males, constituting 43.2% and females at 35.1%.2

Profiles of the School Management Teams

There were 37 respondents in total across the nine schools The racial composition of

these 37 respondents was as follows: 29 white, 6 Indian, 0 coloured and 2 African To

some extent this data was skewed, as four of the six Indians held positions at a former

Indian school What the data seem to suggest is that although desegregation has occurred

at these schools, power is still largely vested in the hands of the SMT, the majority of

whom are white It would seem that the representation of one black member on the SMT

at four different schools is akin to tokenism True democracy has not as yet unfolded at

these schools, particularly with regard to the issue of power relations Perhaps that could

be the reason for the ‘winds of change’ moving at such a slow pace or for the school

adopting an assimilatory approach to address desegregation? The gender profile of the

SMTs was 54% female and 45% male respectively

Sampling and selection of schools

Following a combination of purposive and representative sampling, the research team

identified three schools in each of three provinces in South Africa – a total of nine

schools The provinces were Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal In each of these

provinces, we ensured that our sample consisted of a combination of both primary and

secondary schools The schools were each exemplars of schools in which there had been

rapid desegregation post-1994 The selected schools had quite different histories and

the process of desegregation had unfolded differently at each of them The process of

desegregation in the public schooling system has unfolded according to three criteria: the

demographic location of the school and the surrounding community; the socio-economic

status of the learners; and the ‘one-way’ migration of learners

Hence, the selected schools could be divided into three categories The first category,

consisting of five of the nine schools, had the following profile: Well-resourced schools

situated in middle-class to upper-class, predominantly white, urban suburbs For most of

their lives, these schools catered exclusively to white learners The early 1990s witnessed

the ‘trickling in’ of a few black learners, and the schools were reclassified from being

white public schools to being Model C schools (a government attempt to cut state costs

and accountability by shifting some of the financing and control of white schools to

parents) As a result of the repeal of the Group Areas Act (No 41 of 1950) in 1991 and

the desegregation of schools in 1995, there has been a strong intake of black learners into

these schools over the past decade All four race groups are represented at these schools,

although the ratio between each race group depends on the demographic location and

access by learners to the school

The second category consisted of English-medium schools that were situated in

middle-class, urban, Indian suburbs These schools previously catered solely for Indian learners

who spoke English Again, the early 1990s witnessed the ‘trickling in’ of a few African

learners As a result of the official desegregation of schools in 1996 after the South African

Schools Act, there was a substantial intake of African learners Currently most of these

2 Total percentage does not come to 100 due to missing data

schools have 90 per cent African learners from the surrounding African townships, 9.5 per cent Indian learners and 0.5 per cent coloured learners The ‘bussing-in’ of learners has become the norm at such schools In some schools, only three race groups were represented because there were no white learners, as migration to schools was usually a one-way process Learners from township schools have moved to Indian, coloured and white schools White, Indian and coloured learners have not moved into township schools.The third category consisted of schools that were situated in a middle-class, white, rural area and previously catered to white learners After the desegregation of schools in 1994,

an increasing number of African and some Indian learners enrolled at these schools Many white learners have left

Collectively, these schools represent a typical picture of how South African schools are desegregating, and indicate why it is important not to overstate the post-apartheid growth

of racial desegregation in South African education The general picture in South Africa

is that some formerly white schools and many formerly black schools have remained largely segregated; desegregation has occurred mainly in the formerly Indian schools and

in middle-class white schools This research was focused on schools that were typical of those experiencing substantial desegregation These nine schools represented the sample for the first phase of the research study

Based on the findings of the survey and a set of predetermined criteria, four of the nine schools were selected for the second phase of the research project, namely, the case studies The schools were distributed as follows: one each in Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal, and two schools in Gauteng (primary and secondary)

Response rates

There were five secondary and four primary schools in the sample A total of 2 450 learner questionnaires were sent out, and 1 148 were received; all received were

completed The realised sample, therefore, was 66.7 per cent

For teachers, 291 questionnaires were sent and 146 were returned, a response rate of 42.2 per cent School governing body members were sent 111 questionnaires and 54 were returned, a response rate of 41.4 per cent A total of 67 questionnaires were sent to SMT members and 37 were returned completed, a response rate of 44.2 per cent

Data analysis

As there were both closed-ended and free-response questions in the survey instruments, the analysis had to adopt both quantitative and qualitative procedures Thus, quantitative data were analysed through a statistical analysis procedure using SPSS, while the

qualitative data had to be coded manually by the research team, together with PhD students See Appendix A for details of the research instruments that were used

Phase 2 The case studies: Peering into the desegregated classroomThe case-study phase of the research project consisted of classroom observations over

a three-day period, semi-structured interviews with principals and teachers, and focus group interviews with learners The names of the identified teachers at each of the case-study schools were obtained from the first-phase data One of the questions in the learner questionnaire required learners to name their best teacher and to provide reasons for their choice The study sought to triangulate the data by also requesting input from the

principal in this regard and then following this up with observations of the identified

teachers’ practices The teaching competency (in terms of teaching learners from diverse

backgrounds) of two of the identified teachers at each school was observed over a

three-day period This was followed by an interview with each of the teachers and focus group

interviews of sets of learners from their classes This phase reports on the four schools

that were identified as case-study schools For purposes of confidentiality, these schools

will be called Silverstream Primary (SP), Mbongeni Primary (MP), Gandhi Secondary (GS)

and Riverwood Secondary (RS).3

Enormous amounts of data were obtained from the field Observations of lessons (three

per teacher) were captured using video recordings Some analysts note that the

video-recording technique provides a powerful source for data gathering and analysis, and

enables researchers to leave controlled laboratory settings and enter naturalistic fieldwork

(Kelly 2000; Roschelle 2000) Roschelle argues that one of the strengths of video recording

is that it offers repeated viewing As he puts it, ‘Watching a rich complex scene many times

often can lead to insights that cannot be gleaned from a textual transcript of the same

scene’ (2000: 726) Erickson similarly notes that video recordings provide the capacity for

completeness of analysis (1986: 145) Because of the theoretically unlimited opportunity for

revisiting a recorded instance by replaying it, the instance can be observed from a variety of

foci and analytical perspectives This enables a more thorough description than a participant

observer could prepare from field notes In this case, researchers had the opportunity to

repeatedly view the captured data for incorporation into the discussion of this study

Data analysis

The videotapes were transcribed The team read through the qualitative data from the

videotaped lessons of teachers, interviews and focus group interviews Codes were then

developed from the data, utilising the grounded theory approach of analysis Codes that

were developed from the data were compared with existing codes from the literature on

school desegregation and integration

Profiles of the case-study schools

Silverstream Primary School

Community background and context

Silverstream is one of the older suburbs and is situated in the East Rand of Gauteng

It was historically an exclusively white, middle-class suburb However, the repeal of

the Group Areas Act in 1991 initiated some change in Silverstream’s population, with

the movement of some blacks from townships or low-income areas into mostly white,

working- to middle-class suburbs

School background and context

Silverstream Primary is a well-resourced school situated in a working- to middle-class, still

predominantly white suburb and is one of the few English-medium schools in that area

It was established on 1 January 1953 and used to cater only to white learners The school

population at the time of opening comprised 105 white boys and 85 white girls At the

time, the school consisted of six classrooms and the staffing component comprised six

teachers, including the principal Promoting school attendance was the big drive during

the inception years of Silverstream Primary The early 1990s witnessed dwindling numbers

of white learners as the surrounding community aged

3 Note that the names of schools, teachers, SGB and SMT members, and learners are not real Pseudonyms have been

used to protect the privacy of those concerned.

In 1992, the learner population, which comprised 398 white learners, had an injection

of colour when 200 black pupils were accepted It would seem that the decision to admit black learners was based on survival of the school As a result of the repeal of the Group Areas Act in 1991 and the official desegregation of schools in 1995, there has been a strong influx of black learners into this school over the past decade The school now has a multiracial learner population of 1 044 The white learners come from the suburb of Silverstream and the majority of black learners commute to the school from the surrounding black townships In 2001, Silverstream Primary was awarded the racial integration award by the national Department of Education

Figure 3.3 shows the distribution of teachers and learners across racial groups at Silverstream African and white learners make up a large percentage, 45.1 per cent and 44.4 per cent respectively, of the overall learner population Indian and coloured learners constitute a small percentage, 4.8 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively

While it was noted that the learner profile had a significant number of African learners, the school has few African teachers The distribution of teachers shows that a significant proportion of the teaching staff is made up of white teachers, constituting 53.1 per cent Indians also constitute a high percentage of the teaching staff at 34.3 per cent, while Africans only make up 12.5 per cent and coloured teachers only 0.1 per cent

The vision of Silverstream Primary

To provide the best education possible for our pupils in an atmosphere of love, care and empathy

Riverwood Secondary School

Community background and context

Riverwood is a suburb in the heart of Cape Town, in the Western Cape, that was

exclusively inhabited by middle- to upper-class whites A freeway separated this suburb from an adjoining coloured township The community of Riverwood was wealthy and took pride in and ownership of Riverwood School The school became the flagship of the community, and achievements of the school reflected the achievement of the community

Figure 3.3: Silverstream Primary teacher and learner profile 2004

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 African White Coloured Indian Other

as a whole Post-1994 saw the influx of a majority of coloured learners from the adjoining

township, which changed the character and tone of the school The white community

of Riverwood has lost interest in this school and sees it as belonging more to the

adjoining coloured township There has, to some extent, been a shift in territorial rights,

and the coloured community now plays a more active role in the life of the school

Currently, the majority of teachers at the school are coloured This is an interesting point

to note, as a similar phenomenon has not occurred in schools that are dominated by

African learners

School background and context

Riverwood Secondary School was founded in 1958 It has always been co-educational,

with an even distribution of boys and girls From its inception until the end of 1990, the

learners and educators were classified as white Throughout the school’s existence, the

majority of learners came from middle- to lower-middle-class families Until 1990, the

overwhelming majority of teachers and learners subscribed to the Christian faith and

tended to hold conservative political and moral viewpoints Currently, there has been a

change in the religious character and political perspectives of the school It has become

more inclusive in terms of religious belief and holds progressive political viewpoints

At the beginning of 1990, before it was officially sanctioned, the school admitted learners

who were classified as coloured to the school When the education department learned of

this, the school was instructed to exclude these learners or face disciplinary proceedings

However, later that year under the so-called Clase model, Riverwood Secondary School

became one of the first state schools to conduct a poll among its parents to ascertain

whether the school should apply for the right to determine its own admissions policy as a

Model C school As a result of this poll, the school was granted permission to set its own

admissions criteria and the first previously disadvantaged learners were admitted from

January 1991 Initially, these learners were in the minority and many felt out of place in

what they regarded as a ‘white’ school Some even felt that they were traitors who had

betrayed their communities, and so were ashamed to attend the school However, within

two years, the proportion of previously disadvantaged learners had increased to the point

that they regarded Riverwood as their school The school is situated just across a freeway

from an area formerly designated a coloured group area by apartheid laws, with the

result that Riverwood Secondary is the nearest school for these learners It is therefore

natural for children from this coloured suburb to attend Riverwood Secondary School, and

desegregation has not been an artificial or engineered process In this sense, the school

has remained a community school, with very few learners having to travel or be ‘bussed

in’ to the school

This coloured suburb is middle class and so learners from the different racial groups have

much in common There are some cultural differences, however The increasing number

of Muslim learners necessitated a review of the school’s policies and procedures, out of

respect for these learners’ beliefs The governing body drafted a progressive religious

policy that has been welcomed by the Muslim community

Other cultural differences that have influenced the character of the school include the

different tastes in music, different concepts of fashionable clothing, and the slang spoken

among the learners There has also been a shift in the popularity of certain codes of

sports, with soccer, volleyball, basketball and softball increasing in popularity and

replacing the traditional sports such as hockey, tennis and rugby

Very soon after becoming an open school, the staff and governors recognised the need to transform the ethos and character of the school The SMT committed itself to the ‘melting pot’ model, rather than the assimilation or accommodation models Allegiance was to creating a culture at Riverwood, which witnessed a shift from an exclusive white culture

to one that embraced the predominant coloured culture, while still retaining the former white cultural character of the school This has had implications for staffing, and the school actively set targets to redress the imbalances in the staffing component

In 2003, Riverwood received the ‘Most Improved School Award’ from the DoE for the progress made towards racial integration This award was based not only on a racial headcount of staff, learners and governors but also on the harmonious transformation that the school had undergone Despite the number of successes, the management is still acutely aware of the challenges that confront them There are not many African learners

at the school.4 Those who are there experience varying degrees of racism There is reluctance among the majority of learners to learn an African language, even to the point that many learners only begin singing the National Anthem with any gusto when the Afrikaans lines begin There is also an increasing intolerance of those who are perceived

as being different from what is now the coloured norm

As Figure 3.4 shows, the learner composition at Riverwood is largely coloured, constituting 72.9 per cent This is to be expected, as the school is located in a predominantly coloured area There is also a substantial number of white learners, making up 17.7 per cent, while both Indian and African learners constitute only 5.3 and 4.1 per cent respectively The same trend observed with learners is also evident in the teaching staff, with a high percentage of coloured teachers making up 51.6 per cent White teachers also comprise a considerable number of the teaching staff, constituting 38.7 per cent Indians are also fairly represented (7.6 per cent), while African teachers constitute an insignificant percentage (2.1 per cent).School fees have increased dramatically over the past decade to compensate for the retrenchment of teachers in the state’s employ In 1996, 54 teachers were paid by the

4 The reason for this is mainly attributable to the formerly stringent regulation of African residency in the Western Cape, due to the so-called preferential codes favouring coloured employment and other privileges imposed by apartheid in the Western Cape

Figure 3.4: Riverwood Secondary teacher and learner profile 2004

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 African White Coloured Indian

state; in 2005, there were only 29 Learner numbers have increased from 960 to 1 050

over the same period School fees have increased from R1 200 per annum in 1998 to

R4 200 per annum in 2005 The school budget was R800 000 in 1998 In 2005 it was

R3 884 400, over 60 per cent of which (R2 470 000) is spent on salaries and wages for

governing-body employees The SGB currently employs 13 educators, 7 administrative

clerks and 1 part-time social worker

The vision of Riverwood Secondary School

The school community of Riverwood Secondary will provide a safe, happy and stimulating environment that produces multi-skilled, confident and responsible young adults We are all learners Those who learn here will be equipped to lead lives according to their full potential, which embraces an understanding of our common humanity We serve our community We acknowledge that history has divided this community and we seek to understand our common humanity

Gandhi Secondary School

Community background and context

Gandhi Secondary School is a former Indian-only school situated about 40 kilometres

from the outskirts of a major city in Gauteng The suburb of Gandhi was established in

1962, primarily for Indians, under the Group Areas Act The majority of the population is

middle-class, with a sizeable working-class stratum The neighbouring residential areas are

African townships as well as a newly established and more high-status area that has a mix

of all races, although the majority of residents are white

School background and context

Gandhi Secondary School was deliberately chosen in order to counter the prevailing

tendency of doing research mainly in former Model C schools, which are Anglophone in

ethos and in which instruction is conducted in the majority of these schools, exclusively

in English Recent research indicates that formerly Indian schools have been enrolling a

growing number of African students as well (Carrim 1992, 1995; Metcalfe 1991; Naidoo

1996; Soudien 1998; Soudien, Carrim & Sayed 2004; Vally & Dalamba 1999; Zafar 1998)

All the Indian learners live in the community where the school is situated, while

virtually all the African learners live in townships such as Atteridgeville, Mamelodi and

Soshanguve The bulk of the African learners come from working-class and

middle-class backgrounds The African learners commute to school daily either by bus or taxi

It is worth noting that the daily transport represents a sizeable portion of the families’

disposable income This cost also has implications for educator and

parent-management consultations or general school meetings and functions

Since 1994, the learner demographic profile of Gandhi Secondary School has changed

significantly In 1994, the profile of the school reflected an Indian majority of learners,

with a negligible number of African learners The 2005 statistics indicate that there has

been transformation in the sense that the majority of learners are now African While the

learner demographic profile has changed dramatically, the educator and management

profile remains exclusively Indian The school has a female principal and two male

Figure 3.5 illustrates that African learners constitute a high percentage (55 per cent) of the learner population, with Indians making up the second highest percentage (42.2 per cent) Coloured learners make up just 2.2 per cent and 0.2 per cent are white learners The teaching staff comprises mainly Indian teachers (90 per cent) The other population groups total about 10 per cent: 6.9 per cent Africans, 3.4 per cent coloured learners and

no white learners

The vision of Gandhi Secondary School

Our Vision is to provide quality education and opportunities to all role players

to develop to their full potential as active, responsible and fulfilled citizens who can play a constructive role in a democratic and multi-cultural society

Mbongeni Primary School

Community background and context

The community of Mbongeni, in KwaZulu-Natal, consists of white farmers and African farm workers, together with a few Indian merchants and some coloured nurses and teachers The community is mixed in terms of class There are very rich and very

poor members of the community who live in the same town Some parents own

big businesses, some are middle-class professionals, and some parents are domestic workers Some members of this last group work as far away as Durban, which is more than 150 kilometres from Mbongeni, while others are surviving on social grants from the government Most other community members of the small town of Mbongeni are hawkers There is also a railway line passing by the town, which is mostly utilised by goods trains carrying agricultural goods from Mbongeni to Pietermaritzburg and Durban.School background and context

Mbongeni Primary School is in the rural area of Kwazulu-Natal It was first opened on 5 August 1895, with a staff of 3 and 22 learners, and was built on church ground The first school concert was held in 1898, where the main item was a fairy tale entitled ‘The Land

of Dreams’ In 1921, the school moved to its present premises, at which time it had an enrolment in excess of 130 At the time, the school premises housed both the primary

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 African White Coloured Indian

school and the high school In 1991, the school decided to separate the primary and high

school facilities and in 1992, both schools opted for the Model C category

Like most historically defining moments in South African history, the statement of the then

president of South Africa, F.W de Klerk, in 1990, about the unbanning of the political

opposition and the release of political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, did not leave

Mbongeni untouched Learners from other cultural groups had to be admitted into the

previously white schools, and both the primary and secondary schools decided to have

a referendum where the parents had to vote ‘Yes’ if they agreed that learners of colour

could be admitted into the school This referendum was held in January 1991; more than

90 per cent of voters were in favour of the change So it was that Mbongeni Primary and

Secondary Schools became the first schools in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands to open their

doors to learners of all cultural groups (Pachonik 1995: 16)

Opening the doors of formerly white schools to new cultures had its own daunting

challenges According to Johnson, ‘problems encountered then related to differences in

cultural perspectives from time to time…but mutual respect and an open willingness to

learn proved to be catalysts in attitudinal adjustments [and] light-hearted banter about

cultural differences was a sure sign that a healthy atmosphere prevailed’ (1994: 61) As

a result of the government’s economic rationalisation programme instituted in 1992,

changes that affected the education system were announced Schools had to choose their

category again and Mbongeni opted to remain a Model C school This decision resulted

in an increase in school fees and boarding fees Needless to say, this had an impact on

the socio-economic status of learners that enrolled at Mbongeni, and the attitudes around

education in the community changed Education was now becoming expensive and

therefore was adding to family problems

Despite the financial hardship, it became imperative that an attitude that placed a high

premium on the value of education was nurtured (Pachonik 1995: 62) Mbongeni learners

achieved well academically and they were very proud of themselves, as they proved that

one did not need to attend private schools or, very importantly, to attend school in a

large institution in a large city in order to do well

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 African White Coloured Indian

Learners Teachers

Figure 3.6: Mbongeni Primary teacher and learner profile 2004

Figure 3.6 gives an indication of the distribution of teachers and learners at Mbongeni Primary It shows that African learners make up a huge percentage (81 per cent) of the overall learner population This is followed by coloured learners, 8.5 per cent; Indian learners, 7.5 per cent; and white learners, 3.1 per cent

In contrast to African learners, African teachers constitute less than 1 per cent of the teaching staff There are a significant number of both white and coloured teachers

constituting 43.6 per cent and 40.2 per cent respectively

The vision of Mbongeni Primary School

Mbongeni Primary School hereby commits to providing the learners with the finest education possible In so doing, we endeavour to assist every learner

to exploit their fullest potential in every aspect of their lives, so that they will develop into independent, well-prepared and confident young people, ready to accept any challenge in their future

Teacher profiles for the case-study phase5

At Silverstream Primary, the two identified teachers were Annelize and Nita Annelize was

a white, Afrikaans-speaking female in her thirties, a qualified teacher who had completed

a Masters degree in education Nita was an Indian, English-speaking female in her late twenties who had a teacher’s diploma Annelize taught Grade 5 learners and Nita taught Grade 4 learners Both were form teachers As such, they remained with the same group

of learners throughout the day, teaching all Learning Areas In Grade 4, the Learning Areas were Numeracy, Literacy and Life Orientation In Grade 5, all eight Learning Areas6

were taught to learners Both classes comprised 40 learners per class and were gender and race sensitive Learners were seated in groups of four to five across gender and race

In the Grade 5 class, there were 15 white learners, 4 Indian learners, 1 coloured learner and 20 African learners The learners in the Grade 4 class comprised 10 white learners, 4 Indian learners, 1 coloured learner and 25 African learners

At Gandhi Secondary, the two identified teachers were Rishal and Miriam Rishal was an Indian, English-speaking male in his early thirties He was an unqualified teacher who was employed by the SGB His class comprised 90 per cent African learners and 10 per cent Indian learners The classroom seating was organised in group format, and each group had a group leader Each group consisted of six learners: boys and girls; black and white members At least one Indian learner was present in each group It would seem that this teacher was very popular with learners and had established good rapport with them Miriam was an Indian, English-speaking veteran teacher in her late fifties who had taken early retirement and had returned to fill a governing body post She began teaching at Gandhi Secondary in 1969 and had taught Mathematics for 17 years She had also taught at

a teachers’ training college Her class consisted of 90 per cent African learners and 10 per cent Indian learners The classroom seating was organised in a conventional row setting The class was composed of approximately 45 learners Learners chose where they wanted to sit

5 There were no African teachers in the case-study sample Their absence is largely a result of the very low

representation of African teachers at these desegregated schools Teachers who were interviewed in the second phase

of the study were those identified in the learner questionnaires as exemplifying good teaching practice We also solicited the principals’ input as a balance against possible bias on the part of learners It should be noted that none

of the teachers interviewed was African.

6 The eight Learning Areas are: Language, Literacy and Communication (LLC); Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy and Mathematical Sciences (MMLMS); Natural Sciences (NS); Economic and Management Sciences (EMS); Human and Social Sciences (HSS); Art and Culture (AC); Life Orientation (LO); Technology

At Mbongeni Primary, the two identified teachers were Sara and Coleen Sara was a

coloured female in her mid twenties At the time that this research was conducted she

had been teaching at Mbongeni for four years She spoke both English and Afrikaans

at home She also spoke a bit of isiZulu and isiXhosa She did not receive any formal

diversity education during her teacher training, but as a student herself had attended

multiracial schools Her class comprised half boys and half girls Two white boys were

seated at the back of the class with two separate groups The two white boys were

among eleven African girls, six African boys, six coloured boys and two coloured girls

Three Indian girls and two Indian boys completed the ‘rainbow’ character of the class

Coleen was a coloured female teacher in her mid forties Her vocation for teaching was

strongly influenced by nuns who had taught her at the Catholic schools she had attended She

received training in diversity in some of the modules she had done to complete an Honours

degree at the University of Zululand She was a head of department at Mbongeni Primary

At Riverwood Secondary, the two identified teachers were Cycil and Vani Cycil was a

qualified coloured male teacher in his late twenties He spoke both English and Afrikaans,

and taught Geography and History Cycil had been teaching for the past ten years, four

of which were at Riverwood Secondary School His class was set in a conventional row

setting, and learners were left to sit where they saw fit

Cycil was a popular and open-minded teacher who easily fitted into the world of his

learners Learners regarded him as one of them, and this had been encouraged by his

non-stringent approach to boundaries in relationship with his learners The learners seemed to

know how far they could push before he got annoyed He rarely had order in his class

and at times it seemed as if he had no classroom management skills; however, the learners

seemed to like him and looked forward to his classes Cycil’s teaching strategies could be

thought to be questionable at first glance Through continuous observations, however, it

became apparent that his language drew more on street jargon at times, which together

with his dress code and behaviour, enticed the learners’ interest; they seemed to enjoy his

classes and therefore participated fully during lessons It seemed as if he was conveying the

message that he was one of them Cycil delivered his lessons through ‘edutainment’ and

therefore the learners felt at ease most of the time during his lessons

Vani was an Indian, English-speaking female in her mid thirties She was a qualified

teacher and was conducting research for an Honours degree She was responsible for the

subjects English and Drama The seating arrangement in her classroom took the format of

a horseshoe to accommodate drama and dance The centre of the classroom was open and

used as a stage Her attitude fitted well with this format, as she was an open and lively

person Learners chose where to sit Vani seemed approachable and the learners engaged

with her easily She complimented her learners frequently, and this served to motivate them

to participate in her lessons She taught by example and most of the time empathised with

her learners Learners responded positively towards her She used a reflective teaching style

and encouraged learners to learn from each other Vani put the power of learning into

the hands of her learners, as she continually used learners themselves to learn from each

other’s successes and failures, and thus to improve themselves The learners in her class

were given freedom to constructively criticise their work

She openly interacted with learners and mingled with them in a quiet yet authoritative

manner, dispelling the traditional and conventional stance of the teacher Learners found

her to be accessible and approachable She narrated personal experiences to learners in

a quest to show them that she might have gone through embarrassing moments as well This indicated to learners that she too was human and fallible.

A synthesis of school profiles

The analysis of the school profiles depicts varying patterns The composition of the teaching staff reflects a completely different picture from that of the learners While the learner and SGB compositions reflect a fair balance of the different racial groups, teacher composition reflects an over-dominance of white teachers This trend is observable across the three provinces and nine schools, with the exception of one school, which reflected

a high percentage of Indian teachers Research findings by Sekete, Shilubane and Moila (2001) and Sujee (2004) also point to the general trend of a considerable change in learner composition in integrated schools, coupled with minimal changes in the racial composition of the teaching staff For example, in the Gauteng province, while up to

61 per cent of the teachers are African, more than 90 per cent of them are based in the former Department of Education and Training (DET) schools, which cater largely for black learners (Sujee 2004: 54) In 2002, former Transvaal Education Department (TED) schools – that is, former Model C schools – had 92.4 per cent of white teachers The picture is not much different in the other provinces (Sujee 2004)

While this study did not inquire about what subjects were taught by the black teachers

in these schools, some studies point to a worrying trend where the majority of black teachers, in racially integrated schools, are only there to offer African languages (isiZulu, Sepedi, isiXhosa, etc.) and not other curricula such as mathematics, science and

technology (see Sekete, Shilubane & Moila 2001; Dhunpath & Joseph 2004)

In contrast, in most of the schools – with the exception of only two – and across all the provinces, the percentage of black learners was relatively high It would appear, however, that the location of the schools seems to have a bearing on the learner composition The racial composition of the school is, to a larger extent, a microcosm of the surrounding dwelling area, not only in terms of racial integration of the community but also in terms

of the social class For instance, school fees that are charged also reflect the

socio-economic class of the surrounding residents and as such contribute to the extent of integration at schools However, this trend could be short-lived, since there are initiatives from government, such as exemption of fees for the parents who cannot afford them and the increasing practice of bussing learners from one location to the other These, together, have the potential for changing not only the racial make-up of the schools but also the cultural, social and class composition, which would require constant monitoring

Given the fact that the complexion of the teaching staff is still predominantly white

in desegregated schools, despite an overall higher percentage of black teachers in the schooling system, concerted efforts and appropriate strategies should be made to alter the racial composition of the teaching staff in schools to reflect that of the general population

It must be noted though that the teacher composition at former white and Indian schools are such because many of the teachers were employed at these schools prior to the process of desegregation Is it fair to redeploy these teachers now? It will take time for change to happen in this regard This also relates to change in the mindsets of people about the culture of learning and teaching in former African schools and the training

of African teachers at DET colleges of education While we are acutely aware of the dynamics at play in this regard, our study did not set out to address this phenomenon This makes for a whole new research study

Research findings

Phase 1 The survey: Perceptions of ‘best practice’ in desegregated

South African schools

This section reports on the key findings of Phase 1 of the study It is structured according

to the following categories: teacher responses; learner responses; parent responses; SGB

responses; and SMT responses

Some clarification is needed about the research findings presented in this section In each

subsection the discussion begins with responses to structured questions that restricted

respondents in their answers These structured questions were of two main types First,

we present questions utilising the Likert scale, with various values from ‘strongly agree’

to ‘strongly disagree’ and questions that required either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers Second, the

discussion then focuses on responses to free-response questions

Responses of teachers

Teachers are central in the whole process of ‘best practice’ in desegregated schools as they

spend most of their time with the learners They play an influential role in developing

appropriate behaviours and respect for equal rights and treatment It is important, therefore,

to ascertain their disposition to school desegregation in general Teacher attendance at

training workshops on diversity was considered to be one of the most important steps

towards preparing them to teach a class of diverse learners Thus, a question as to

whether teachers had attended diversity training workshops was deemed necessary

As is reflected in Figure 4.1, a substantial number of teachers (41 per cent) attended

courses on how to teach classes of diverse learners and 25 per cent did not attend any

of the related courses or workshops The last column of the ‘not sure’ respondents

represents those that either did not answer the question or could not remember if they

had attended such a course It could, however, be assumed that these teachers did not

attend such related training, hence their failure to recall or even indicate if they had

Figure 4.1: Teacher responses to workshops, instructional materials and learner grouping

100

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Attended diversity workshops

Use diverse instructional materials

Ensure mixed learner groups

Yes No Not sure

not attended at all If this assumption is correct, then a large number of teachers have not been thoroughly prepared to deal with classes that comprise learners from diverse backgrounds in terms of race, gender, class, language, and so forth

Various institutions such as the DoE, teacher training centres and universities offered these teacher training courses Whether teachers found these courses helpful and

managed to implement what they learnt is yet another issue, which was explored later during the classroom observations conducted in the second phase of the study

It should be acknowledged, however, that the DoE is making considerable efforts to equip teachers with the necessary skills and expertise to handle classrooms with diverse learners However, as a limitation, the study could not explore the reasons attributed

to the large number of teachers who failed to attend the training courses on diversity

in education

Teachers were also asked whether they ‘use instructional (learning support) materials that describe historical, social and political events from the perspective of different racial, ethnic, cultural and language groups’ Sixty-three per cent pointed out that they used materials of this nature Of the remaining teachers, 12 per cent said ‘no’, while 25 per cent did not answer the question The teachers were asked to specify, and a number of them pointed out that this question was more applicable to subjects in the area of Humanities and Social Sciences Teaching and learning material plays a critical role in portraying different perspectives and a representative social world That 63 per cent responded positively to the question indicated that teachers are making strides towards moving beyond narrow and restricted teaching and learning material that at best excludes other important social realities and at worst caricatures race, cultures, religions and unfamiliar viewpoints

Besides working with teaching and learning material that incorporates and reflects well

on all races, cultures and religions, a considerable number of teachers pointed out how they encouraged learners of different races and cultural backgrounds to interact with each other Specifically, they cited how they organised group activities, ensuring that there was

a racial mix among the groups Teachers did not leave learners to decide how to group themselves, but made sure that groups included a mix of races

Figure 4.2: Teacher responses to what constitutes ‘best practice’

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

To accommodate a class of diverse learners in their class activities, 50 per cent of teachers

used group work and ensured that the groups were racially mixed Learners of different

races and cultural backgrounds were grouped together and given equal treatment in

terms of roles such as group leader and reporter for the group

It should also be noted that the attributes noted in Figure 4.2 above were not predetermined

in the questionnaires; rather, they emerged from the analysis of the data as common

emergent views of the teachers Teachers’ responses centred on those themes or attributes

When asked what constitutes ‘best practice’ in desegregated schools, as illustrated in Figure

4.2 above, approximately 57 per cent of teachers, in various ways and to varying degrees,

stressed the importance of being ‘sensitive and knowledgeable about cultures and

customs’ There was also a significant percentage (62 per cent) of teachers who indicated

that ‘best practice’ included avoiding imposing one’s views on learners (that is, ‘learner

originality in thinking’) One of the female teachers put it this way: ‘You must just teach and

do not emphasise differences among your learners but only similarities Bear in mind that all

children are the same.’ A male teacher had this to say: ‘Do not silence learners when they give

examples from their background and elaborate on an issue under discussion.’ Some teachers

suggested consistency in exercising discipline – ‘same punishment for same offence’ (Vandeyar

& Phatlane 2005) A further 33 per cent suggested that teachers should refrain from constantly

‘drawing the learners’ attention to their blackness or whiteness; let them simply be children’

The key issue in all these quotes is that teachers identified a number of issues as

constituting ‘best practice’ in desegregated schools, and these issues converged around

the theme of fairness and equal treatment There were some worrying comments such as:

‘We see children, not colour.’7 When analysed, this attitude masks differences in learners

Teachers need to acknowledge and work with and through the colour of learners In this

way, they can build on the linguistic and cultural capital of their learners

In response to a question about what they saw as some of the challenges of teaching a

class of diverse learners, most of the teachers in this study identified the area of training

as important Teachers emphasised that the training should be provided by lecturers who

themselves were not only steeped in the theory but also in practice – the actual experience

of teaching in multicultural and interracial classrooms It is important that teachers get

training in teaching in these types of classrooms (Ladson-Billings 1995) It is not merely a

matter of teachers adjusting to different classroom settings and a greater number of learners;

teachers need some form of training to be prepared to handle these sorts of classrooms

There were teachers who pointed out that daily practices at home left an indelible mark

on the learners; hence the challenge is to start from the home environment As one

teacher put it: ‘Children learn what they live; if parents perpetuate the hate, anger and

bitterness, the children will do it too We have no power over what has happened; we

only have power over our attitudes to what has happened.’

In summary, most of the teachers pointed out ways in which they attempted to take into

account the various racial, cultural and religious backgrounds of the learners in their

classrooms A high number of them, constituting 63 per cent (see Figure 4.1 above), mentioned

that they used teaching and learning material that took into account different perspectives, race,

7 It should be noted that the notion of colour-blindness is highly contested as it is seen as a denial in recognising and

acknowledging difference and identity Such denial can have serious psychological consequences, not to mention the

undemocratic nature of such practice.

cultures, and so on The majority of the teachers also suggested that training that is based on working with a class of diverse learners would improve teaching in desegregated schools.Responses of learners

This section provides a synopsis of the responses of learners to several key questions about school desegregation It is important to note that the research instrument contained a number

of questions, but this section is based on selected questions that the authors thought key

to the school desegregation project This includes questions such as: ‘What is the racial make-up of your Learner Representative Council?’ ‘Explain why you selected this school?’ While informative about racial desegregation, these two questions are not directly dealt with

in this report, and only those questions that reveal more about school desegregation are discussed No specific order has been designated in the discussion of the questions

One of the central questions in the research instrument asked learners to indicate

whether teachers favoured certain learners because of their race About 50 per cent of learners said that they did not, indicating that a substantial number of teachers treated learners fairly (see Figure 4.3) Only 20 per cent said teachers favoured certain learners

A relatively high number (30 per cent) were noncommittal on this question, neither agreeing nor disagreeing that they were treated without any sort of favouritism

That the majority of learners (50 per cent against 20 per cent) pointed out that the

teachers treated them without favouritism augurs well for school desegregation efforts

in the country, especially given years of officially sanctioned discrimination Lack of favouritism indicates, to some extent, that learners are being treated equally, irrespective

of race, culture or academic ability

Part of encouraging and developing ‘best practice’ in desegregated schools involves treating learners fairly and without discrimination Since teachers, in relative terms, spend most of their time with learners in classrooms, their influence in nurturing fair treatment and equality among learners is critical In this study, learners were asked whether they were given equal opportunities to take part in classroom activities With regard to this question, the majority of learners (87.7 per cent) across all the case-study schools in the

Figure 4.3: Teacher practices as perceived by learners

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Teacher favours some learners

Equal opportunities for learners

Interracial seating arrangements

three provinces responded positively Only 12.5 per cent of the learners pointed out

that they were not given equal opportunities (Figure 4.3) Their distribution cuts across

all the schools and provinces and is not confined to a particular school or province

While it is encouraging that the majority of learners asserted that they were given equal

opportunities, the 12.5 per cent that responded negatively is a significant number and is

therefore a cause for concern

This question was further analysed according to gender in an attempt to establish any

variation along gender lines No significant differences were noted Almost the same

number of boys and girls agreed that they were given equal opportunities to participate

in classroom activities

Learners were also asked about seating arrangements in the classroom In particular, they

were asked whether the school or the teachers encouraged them to sit with those learners

that came from different backgrounds The majority of learners (76.8 per cent) indicated

that they were encouraged to do so It is important that teachers do this, so that learners

get acquainted with each other and collapse the artificial boundaries existing among

learners from varying backgrounds Seating arrangements should not be left entirely

in the hands of individual learners, especially in primary schools, as they will tend to

associate only with those from the same race Schools and teachers should encourage

learners to transcend this tendency, for if learners are left in their familiar social worlds,

they will have little knowledge and understanding of cultures other than their own

Learners were also asked about whether they were encouraged to play together, and

whether they actually did play together The majority of learners, as represented by 75

per cent, responded positively, while 18 per cent indicated that they were not sure Only

6.2 per cent of learners responded in the negative The majority pointed out that the

learners of different races interacted with each other without any problems However, the

6.2 per cent that indicated that there were problems raises a matter of concern

In addition, learners were asked about relating to different races The majority of them

were of the view that their schools were doing well in encouraging learners of different

races to relate to each other Only a small percentage indicated that their schools did not

encourage them to work together Overall, this is an acknowledgement of school efforts

to tackle racial desegregation so that some learners do not feel alienated and lack a sense

of belonging Being able to relate to each other adds impetus to attempts to collapse the

artificial boundaries that have been created among different population groups Given

decades of officially sanctioned racism, it would be unrealistic to expect a hundred per

cent of the sampled population to indicate that they did not experience any problems

when learners from different races interact with one another

To summarise, across the three provinces and nine schools, the majority of learners

were of the view that there were fair treatment and equal opportunities to participate

in classroom and school activities, to work with other learners irrespective of their race,

and to befriend learners from different social backgrounds Learners felt that their schools

were doing well in the process of school desegregation They had few suggestions about

how their schools could improve strategies to achieve true racial desegregation

Responses of parents

Parents are key stakeholders in the school community Their experiences and views about

what happens in schools are critical in the collective effort to improve the conditions of

schooling The DoE (2005) has found that in schools where the majority of parents take a keen interest in their children’s education, the majority of learners in those schools tend to achieve better, in relative terms, than learners in schools with low parental involvement and support.

As with the learner questionnaire, the parent questionnaire contained a number of

questions about school desegregation and overall practices in the school The discussion below focuses on key questions about the process and substance of school desegregation,

as viewed and experienced by parents

Parents were asked whether their schools encouraged learners of different races to relate

to each other Table 4.4 below indicates that 87.6 per cent of the parents agreed that their school encouraged learners to get along with each other, despite their race and/

or culture Only 1 per cent of parents strongly felt that their schools did not encourage learners from different races and/or cultures to get along with each other This indicates that schools are working on school desegregation

The high percentage of parents that agreed that their schools encouraged learners to get along implies that most parents support their schools in their attempts to improve relations among learners and the conditions of teaching and learning Again, the pattern cuts across all the schools, provinces and race of parents

One of the key questions in the research instrument about school desegregation asked parents to indicate whether opportunities were created for their children to participate in interracial group activities As illustrated in Table 4.4, 79 per cent of parents agreed that their schools did create opportunities for their children to participate in interracial group activities Such opportunities are important because learners who take part in interracial group activities are likely to confront possible stereotypes about certain race groups and learn to understand them Overall, the majority of parents found no fault with how teachers handled learner participation and engagement with schoolwork

Parents were also asked whether their children were given equal opportunities to participate

in all activities at the school Over 90 per cent responded positively In contrast, only about

2 per cent indicated that their children were not offered equal opportunities to participate in

Figure 4.4: Parents’ perceptions of school practices

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Learners of different races get along

Interracial grouping

of learners

Equal opportunities for learners

Happy with teacher composition