A philosophical exploration of democratic participation in school governance in selected South African black schools in the Eastern Cape Province

[摘要] Since the dawn of democracy in South Africa in 1994, the South AfricanEducation System embarked on an all important democratisation process. Inschools, this included attempts to dismantle the concentration of powers toinclude all stakeholders in the governance of schools. Through this,government wanted to ensure that education in its entirety is geared towardsdevelopment. This includes the birth of the South African Schools Act, whichstates that a school governance structure should involve all stakeholdergroups in active and responsible roles, and encourage tolerance, rationaldiscussion and collective decision - making. This, in spite of the Act, did notprevent schools, particularly black schools, from excluding learners fromexercising their democratic rights in terms of the Act. This led to the perennialquestion underpinning this study: what idea of democratic participation couldprevent the exclusion of learner voices in school governance?The study proceeds from using the broad theory of democratic participationto include a liberal democratic approach. It argues for an inclusive democraticparticipation to enable/promote a stable school environment. The basicconcept is that each school governance individual is to be treated equally, andwith due regard to his/her actual personal preferences. Three distinct andinseparable methods of inquiry, namely conceptual analysis, deconstructiveanalysis and the use of narratives, and three forms of data capturing in theform of questionnaires, focus group analysis and journal entries areemployed.Research findings revealed six problem areas that had emerged from the datawhich shows that the situation in the structure of school governance is farfrom ideal. I then introduced the deliberative democratic school governance(DDSG) perspective as a tentative solution, as it became apparent that quite anumber of crucial issues are lacking in the structures of school governance.These uncertainties and attitudes undermine the role of learners ingovernance and also segregate their legitimacy in the decision - makingprocesses of a democratic state. Deliberative democratic school governance(DDSG) therefore becomes the vehicle through which schools should addressthe continuous uncertainties and impediments that govern their operations inthe school community and the staggering lack of partnership within the schoolgovernance structure.I argue and suggest that deliberative processes could be effective if they canbe fused with an African culture. The debate has to move from a 'Western'deliberative democratic participation model to one that both deals with andaddresses the bigger picture of 'African' democratic participation which isdriven by the belief that a person possessing ubuntu will have characteristicssuch as being caring, humble, thoughtful, considerate, understanding, wise,generous, hospitable, socially mature, socially sensitive, virtuous and blessed,thus marking a shift from confrontation to conciliation.Finally, the study identifies the need for moral ethics and democratic/socialjustice to help address the complex societal issues which influence learneroutcomes and insists that schools become accountable for creating anauthentic supportive school environment for all communities and its roleplayers. Moral ethics, in its fight against violence and crime, will provide aguide for educators, learners and parents. Its aims of ethical living anddemocratic justice will provide the basis for a framework of balance andharmony within these groups or society.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University