Wie maak die keuse? Die aard van skoolkeuse in 'n bolandse dorp.

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT : School choice is regarded as the right of every person in South Africa, but there aremechanisms that are used to determine how learners access schools. This study wasabout the nature of school choice in a Boland town. The methodology that wasfollowed in this study was qualitative in nature within an interpretive paradigm. Usinga focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews, the context of two parents'school choices was examined. Semi-structured interviews were also used to gain thedifferent schools perspective on how admissions are implemented. Policies thatinfluence school choice were also examined using document analysis. Some of thepolicies that were examined were the South African Constitution, the South AfricanSchools Act of 1996, amendments to the South African Schools Act of 1996 and theadmission policies of the two schools used in the study. The theoretical lens that wasused in this study was that of Bourdieu's reproduction theory. The focus was placedon Bourdieu's concepts 'field', 'habitus' and 'capital'.This study found that middle-class parents are advantaged when making schoolchoices, and these parents are also more likely than working-class parents to get theirfirst choice in schools. In terms of the South African Schools Act of 1996, the SchoolGoverning Body is responsible for the design of a number of policies, including theadmissions policy. In terms of the Act, as well as the South African Constitution, everylearner needs to be afforded equal opportunities, which means that the admissionpolicy of a school cannot unfairly discriminate against any learner.However, among the key findings of this study, it was found that parents invest in theirchildren's education by gaining access to the best schools they have the ability toaccess. Parents have different factors that they deem as important when makingschool choice and use these factors in determining a school for their children. Furtherfindings in this study determined that schools accept learners according to the schoolsadmission policies, and schools that receive more applicants can compare thelearner's according to the schools admission criteria so that the schools only acceptthe best suited candidates for the school. It was also found that quality education isdifficult to be defined, and parents would like to gain access to schools that offersquality education. Schools on the other hand, does not attribute quality education tothe admission of learners, but rather to the discipline at the school, the academically performance of the school, the processes the school use to ensure quality educationand use the amount of applicants as an indication of how the schools is preforming.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University