Teachers' preparedness for transformative practice in multicultural schools: An analysis of selected post apartheid teachers' self-reports
type: CreativeWork
description: South Africa's schooling system developed within the historical backdrop of racial subjugation of some of its citizens. The legislation of the new South African Constitution (RSA, 1996) and the South African Schools Act (DoE, 1996) overturned apartheid educational policies in order to instate a process of social justice at all levels of the South African society. Samuel (2003) notes that, teachers are shaped personally and professionally, by the context within which they developed. During apartheid most teachers were trained in mono-racial, mono-cultural schools and teacher training institutions; making them unprepared to teach in multicultural classrooms. Thus thrust into multicultural classrooms after apartheid, they were unprepared for their role. Teachers, though professionals in their field of expertise, are also positioned as role models. Therefore, their dispositions have considerable impact on learners' sense of self which eventually contributes to shaping their futures. It is therefore crucial to examine from which mindset post apartheid teachers operate and how disposed they are to fulfil the responsibility placed on them to act as agents of transformation. Hence, the study documents teachers' reports, examining their knowledge, attitude and practice to see how they have changed, how poised they are for equitable classroom practice and how resolved they are to carry out critical action for social justice. The study was carried out in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa. The study is a qualitative study that used semi-structured interviews to elicit responses from teachers working in thirteen different schools, representative of the apartheid school-types, which were selected because of their degree of racial integration at the time of data collection. The study discursively documented their notions of classroom multiculturalism1 (CM), the challenges they face, their perceived levels of change and their resolve to act as change agents for social …
abstract: South Africa's schooling system developed within the historical backdrop of racial subjugation of some of its citizens. The legislation of the new South African Constitution (RSA, 1996) and the South African Schools Act (DoE, 1996) overturned apartheid educational policies in order to instate a process of social justice at all levels of the South African society. Samuel (2003) notes that, teachers are shaped personally and professionally, by the context within which they developed. During apartheid most teachers were trained in mono-racial, mono-cultural schools and teacher training institutions; making them unprepared to teach in multicultural classrooms. Thus thrust into multicultural classrooms after apartheid, they were unprepared for their role. Teachers, though professionals in their field of expertise, are also positioned as role models. Therefore, their dispositions have considerable impact on learners' sense of self which eventually contributes to shaping their futures. It is therefore crucial to examine from which mindset post apartheid teachers operate and how disposed they are to fulfil the responsibility placed on them to act as agents of transformation. Hence, the study documents teachers' reports, examining their knowledge, attitude and practice to see how they have changed, how poised they are for equitable classroom practice and how resolved they are to carry out critical action for social justice. The study was carried out in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa. The study is a qualitative study that used semi-structured interviews to elicit responses from teachers working in thirteen different schools, representative of the apartheid school-types, which were selected because of their degree of racial integration at the time of data collection. The study discursively documented their notions of classroom multiculturalism1 (CM), the challenges they face, their perceived levels of change and their resolve to act as change agents for social …
author: Amosun, Olufunmilayo Ibironke
language: eng
date published: 2010
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:05Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Sociology

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3887