Browsing by Author "King, Irene"

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    Reculturing of teachers in the restructuring of a democratic educational system in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003-03) King, Irene; De Klerk, J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Education Policy Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In 1999 the Minister of Education, Professor Asmal, while praising the policy achievements of the first five years of government, described the education conditions of the majority of South Africans as a national emergency. In his assessment large parts of the system were seriously dysfunctional, characterised by rampant inequality, low teacher morale, failure of governance and management and poor learning. In this study I will argue that a legal framework and idealist policies for change are important, but they will not adequately change schools and their cultures. A democratic culture can only be successfully established in a new democracy on the preconditions that the hearts, minds and attitudes of educators and learners are changed. I also argue that the rationale behind restructuring is school improvement and the improvement of the quality of education, but that unless the reculturing of teachers as well as learners enters into the equation, the objectives of restructuring will never be achieved. This study analyses the restructuring that has taken place since 1994, considers possible ways of reculturing teachers and discusses the role of developmental appraisal in the process of reculturing. The research document consists of five chapters. The introductory chapter provides the orientation for the study. This is followed by a chapter dealing with a theoretical perspective on reculturing teachers in the restructuring of schools in a democratic South Africa. Chapter Three focuses on the different policies and legislative frameworks of restructuring of schools that have been introduced since 1994; it also examines the processes of reculturing by means of professional development and in particular developmental appraisal and the instilling of morals and values as points of departure. Chapter Four reports on a questionnaire conducted in the Paarl, Wellington, Malmesbury and Franschhoek areas in the Western Cape. The study concludes with a comparison of the findings in the empirical study and those of the South African Education for All (EFA) 2000 Report. When educators reculture themselves and their schools, they need to change the conditions of their work and make a paradigm shift. Recommendations are made on how to bring about these changes.