Has educational transformation deepened democracy in public high schools?

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The process of educational transformation in South Africa was characterised bythe creation of a coherent policy and legislative framework (e.g. Constitution;South African Schools Act, 1996) that would form the basis for systematicchanges. My concern is if or to what extend the transformational goals ofaccess, redress, equality, quality, freedom and participation manifest itself inpublic high schools, particularly those schools from historically disadvantagedcommunities.Engaging in an interpretive and critical analysis of data (South African SchoolsAct, 1996 and diverse educator voices), I explore the conceptual and pragmaticlinks between different nuances of democracy in schools. There seem to behuge gaps between policy and practice. As the transformation of the educationsystem is inseparable from the total transformation of our nation, I contend thatthe education landscape needs to be reviewed. A rigorous multi-facettedapproach by all role players is necessary in order to meet the complexity ofchallenges to the process of transforming the education system of South Africa,in order to bring about a deep democracy.KEY WORDS: Education, transformation, democracy, participation, equalityand quality.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University