South Africa’s Quest for Democratic Education through a Language in Education Policy Perspective

Edmore Mutekwe,Mabatho Sedibe

doi:10.4236/ce.2015.610106

Edmore Mutekwe, Mabatho Sedibe

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2015.610106

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine how South Africa sought to foster democracy in education through the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) document in the post-apartheid South African education system. The paper begins with a reflective account of the background to democratic education in South Africa in the immediate post 1994 era and proceeds to examine the literature on the nature of democracy, democratic education and how the LiEP was used in the new democratic government’s endeavour to foster a democratic education system in the country by elevating indigenous languages to an hypothetical same level as English and Afrikaans, which had been the dominant language of classroom instruction prior to 1994. In doing so, the paper offers a critical discussion of the LiEP itself in terms of its applicability to the South African education system. It thus explores the view that democratic education is an educational ideal in which democracy is both a goal and a method of instruction. In the paper we argue that it brings democratic values to education and can include self-determination within a community of equals, as well as such values as justice, respect and trust for all races and ethnic groups inhabiting the country (Carr & Hartnett, 1996). In relation to the Language in Education Policy, the paper discusses how its introduction in the education system was designed to foster democracy in the curriculum by offering as its goal, learners an option to access education in the languages of their choice wherever that is reasonably possible (LiEP, 1997). This implied exalting the indigenous languages and knowledge.

Highlights

The rationale for South Africa’s adoption of the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) was to empower learners and educators to have a choice of the language of education in schools
As part of the background to this study, we adopt Jansen (2003) literature part of which reads that the language education policy that characterised apartheid schooling reflected the grotesque attempt of the white nationalist leadership to Afrikane rise South Africa
South African context of education, except for conservative white Afrikaans-speaking people and for some Zulu-speaking people, the LiEP has helped to partly solve the language question, which once sparked controversy leading to the Soweto uprisings

Summary

Introduction

The rationale for South Africa’s adoption of the LiEP was to empower learners and educators to have a choice of the language of education in schools. As part of the background to this study, we adopt Jansen (2003) literature part of which reads that the language education policy that characterised apartheid schooling reflected the grotesque attempt of the white nationalist leadership to Afrikane rise South Africa. That is it sought to replace the dominance and perhaps even the hegemony of English with the dominance of the Afrikaans language and culture. 11): It is axiomatic that the best medium for teaching a child is his (sic) mother tongue It is the system of meaningful signs that in his mind works automatically for expression and understanding. It is not always possible to use the mother tongue in school and, even when possible, some factors may impede or condition its use

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Discussion

Conclusion