'n Ondersoek na die gereedheid van onderwysers vir die demokratiese aard van onderwys in die Wes-Kaap, Suid-Afrika

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : South Africa became a democracy in 1994, but without democrats, a democracy willbe null and void. In order to become a country with proficient democrats, we need tounderstand what it means to be citizens, informed about our rights and capable toparticipate in decision-making processes. Democratic citizenship education is the keyinstrument to realise this ideal. Therefore, a statement is made that education in SouthAfrica cannot move forward without incorporating democratic principles. Since 1994,education in South Africa has undergone many changes in the quest for a moredemocratic country. However, the question is whether teachers have also made thenecessary changes, or have been given the necessary guidance to implement suchchanges. Are teachers ready to facilitate the democratic nature of education?It is a known problem that teachers tend to leave the profession after a few years ofteaching. Although there may be many possible reasons for the cause of this problem,in this study, I looked at the readiness of teachers for teaching, specifically for thedemocratic nature of teaching. To approach this study, I made use of a criticalparadigm, in order to expose problems and find possible solutions. Data wasconstructed through the lived experience of teachers from three different schools andeducation students at final-year level. An empirical research approach was used to setup questions, which included both close-ended and open-ended questions.Through this research, it was shown that, although teachers tend to feel ready for theprofession before they enter schools, after they start teaching, reality creates theopposite feeling. According to the teachers, democracy and diversity are notnecessarily two of the core reasons why teachers leave the profession. It was alsofound that democratic citizenship education is absent in most teachers' understandingof the concept and therefore the implementation thereof. Thus, teachers may beexperiencing barriers that are linked to the challenges of democracy and diversitywithout even knowing it. These findings gave rise to possible new topics for researchto explore.In order to improve teachers' readiness for the democratic nature of education, greateremphasis must be placed on the importance and responsibility of democraticeducation through (e.g) support programs in education. Teachers should gain a better understanding of what democracy in education entails and how learners should beprepared as democratic citizens.Further studies can therefore involve the issue of democratic citizenship education inthe study material of education students, where more in-depth consideration is givento the preparation of teachers. It is also possible to look at the learners' perspectiveregarding their preparation as democratic citizens.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University