Politics and performance of a literacy intervention in Cape Town: School libraries and the new subjection of volunteerism.

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1994, policy-driven research in South Africa led by the Department of Education (DoE)and Library Information Sciences (LIS) in resource-poor schools has focused on the absence ofteaching and learning the material, teacher support for poor numeracy, and literacy pass rates.In addition, research has been particularly concerned with teachers and poor literacy resultsacross Grade 3 and 6 cohorts. I argue that literacy and literacy rates are complex politicaland educational concerns in South Africa. I argue further that a historical examination of thenotion of a school library in South Africa, its deployment in education policies andprogrammes, and the effects of school libraries on individuals who work in them should informour understanding of these concerns. Based on ethnographic research within a non-profitorganisation in South Africa which aims to realise a school library in every school, I develophere a framework for understanding the complex processes that shape the school library as aparticular kind of policy and political object. Investigating the school library in historical andpolitical context allows for a more in-depth understanding of the outcome of a policy campaignand those implementing the policy. Through a close examination of the policy campaign, I aimto illustrate the relations between stakeholders and role-players in the context of the schoollibrary campaign developed by Equal Education and its spin-off, The Bookery. Anethnographic approach to the literacy campaign enabled me to develop an intimate knowledgeof a particular non-governmental organisation and the complex relations between volunteers, employees, and activists.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University