Demokratiese onderwys in Namibiese primêre skole : vlak of diep?

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:To make sure that democracy in a country such as Namibia with a relative youngdemocracy develop and remain intact, citizens who committed themselves to democracyare needed. Education plays a central role in the realisation of this goal. Althoughdemocracy is one of the central goals of the Namibian education policy, it is by nomeans a guarantee that deep democracy is realised in primary schools in Namibia.Before I started this investigation, I first determined if a philosophical approach is asuitable research mechanism for research about education. I came to the conclusionthat a philosophical approach is very relevant and offers many possibilities for researchabout education. Furthermore, I discovered that the concern about the impact thatphilosophy has on education and teaching in particular, seems to be ungrounded.With this philosophical investigation in mind, particularly through the investigation ofconcepts such as 'democracy', 'democratic education' and 'democratic citizenshipeducation, I try to determine what deep democratic education involves. I investigate thelink between democratic citizenship and democratic education on the basis of threedifferent theories, namely liberalism, communitarianism (liberal, left, rightcommunitarianism and civic republicanism) and deliberative democracy (publicreasoning, discursive democracy and communicative democracy). It is my contentionthat deliberative democracy as an educational process provides more possibilities tobring about deep democracy in schools.The transformation of education in Namibia after independence in 1990 is investigatedto determine to what degree the education system has been successfully democratised.An in-depth study of the teaching approach used in schools in Namibia, is explored todetermine if it meets the requirements to educate learners to be responsible democraticcitizens who can fulfill their duty in the democratic society of Namibia. The central issue, which this dissertation addresses, is that learner-centred education,the approach that is used in Namibian schools, does not ensure deep democracy inNamibian primary schools. Learner-centredness holds that the learners' needs should becentral in the teaching and learning process, while the role of the teacher is that offacilitator. There are many factors, on the learners as well as on the teacher's side,which prevent the successful implementation of this approach. I hold that althoughthese deficiencies can be solved in the course of time learner centred-education can stillnot ensure deep democratic education. The problem is that learner-centred educationdoes not have a democratic civic education agenda and is attuned to an instrumentalpoint of view which constitutes education.It is my contention that if learner-centred education can be supported and adapted sothat it is provided with a democratic civic education agenda, it has the potential tocontribute to manifest deep democracy in primary schools in Namibia. To achieve thisgoal teachers who are committed to democracy and who are willing to transform theirclassrooms in forums where learners can practice the competencies of deliberativedemocracy, are needed. I hold that democratic civic education is about the developmentand promotion of learners' communication capabilities, to make a logical argument andto reason, as well as their ability to think critically and practice reflection.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University