“The voice of the people” : personal reflections on the impact of the 1985 class

This dissertation is divided into two parts as required for the coursework Masters degree in History Education. Part I is a study of a high school community's participation in a regional and nationwide class/school boycott, from July 1985 to January 1986. It analyses how this event affected the community, and how the community responded to the authoritarianism of apartheid rule at critical moments during the course of the boycott. A key factor identified, is the solidarity of the community, which was responsible for its ultimate victory, albeit a small one, against the minority-elected apartheid state. The account provides evidence that this solidarity was the key and most effective weapon used by the school community during the 1985/6 class/school boycott period. It was evident when school communities re-opened their schools closed by the state in September 1985, in the discussions on the postponement of the 1985 final examinations, by the parental support shown for suspended and dismissed teachers in December 1985, and finally, on the day when teachers were allowed to return to their posts in January 1986. The primary source of data for the study is oral interviews conducted by the researcher. Questions were asked about the daily issues, events, emotive responses, ordeals experienced and decisions made when students from the oppressed community used the one weapon at their disposal, namely the boycott, to protest against the inequalities within the education system and South African society. Interviewees included staff, students, parents and members of political and teacher organisations associated with the school, referred to as Central High. during the 1985/6 boycott period. The answers elicited provided the evidence on which to construct an historical account of how ordinary men. women and children engaged in a struggle and challenged oppression at a local, community level. Part II comprises learning materials for a module of history on the 1985/6 class/school boycott, developed for learners at Grade 9 level. Current learners in South African schools were not even born in 1985. They need to know this history because it is their history. The materials contribute to the history of resistance in South Africa which is currently being taught and learnt at school level. The module has been constructed on the principles of source-based history teaching and the notion that learners learn history by "doing" what historians do. It provides a selection of historical skills, values and knowledge to enable a reconstruction of the history contained in Part I in the classroom. The approaches used include the search for evidence on the 1985/6 class/school boycott from source materials by understanding, critically examining, analysing, reasoning, detecting bias, interpreting and communicating answers to the questions and/or problems posed.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Education

Year dc:date.issued

2000

Author dc:creator

• Houghton, Barbara Delaney

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Siebörger, Rob
• Nasson, Bill

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7689

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7689