Analysing the Presentation of the 1976 Soweto Uprising in Grade 9 History Textbooks

Abstract

The Soweto Uprising comprised a series of protests led by secondary school students in South Africa that began on 16 June 1976. Historians and political analysts concur that the Soweto Uprising was a watershed in the national liberation struggle and ushered in the demise of the apartheid system. This article examines the presentation of the Soweto Uprising and related events in five purposefully selected South African secondary school history textbooks for Grade 9 learners using the four dimensions of Morgan and Henning's textbook analytical model. The aim of the study was to identify the omission/inclusion of certain historical facts and the implications for the development of learners’ critical thinking skills. The findings indicated that the omission of historical facts concerning the causes of the Soweto Uprising limits learners’ opportunity to make evidence-based, reasoned judgments about the topic; the use of primary and secondary sources to mediate the affective aspects of the Soweto Uprising is inadequate; the textual community that the history textbooks depicts lacks multiple voices and perspectives; and the narratives do not fully engage learners in complex and contested issues. It is recommended that history textbook authors adopt a multiple text approach to encourage critical thinking and to enable learners to assess historical claims and assertions independently.