Topic > Understanding Critical Theory in the South African Educational Context

IndexCritical Theory in South African EducationUnderstanding the Role of a Teacher in the Development of Future CitizensImplications of Racial DiscriminationConclusionReferencesIn an ongoing process that serves the purpose of creating a South African society where students can realize their potential, our education system has undergone a fundamental transformation. Yet despite these changes, this country's education system appears to remain hamstrung by rigid and unwavering language policies that exclude most students, embodying implicit institutional racism. Critical theory will be used as a lens to understand the phenomenon of these practices which exclude non-Afrikaans speaking students from schools which employ an embossment of “lack of infrastructure or staff to provide English language teaching” that can accommodate all students despite their language. of the speech. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayCritical Theory in South African EducationCritical theory is a philosophical inquiry that is concerned with studying and transforming the relationship between race, racism, and power. With its emphasis on race relations and racial disparities, critical theory is based on the idea that racism is permanent, pervasive, and should be resisted. This theory can be used to expose the problems of racialized inequalities in any educational context. Critical theory can help us understand the racial and ethical dynamics of the South African educational context: applying critical theory's understanding of educational inequalities, it can be argued that single-medium Afrikaans schools use language that excludes the previously disadvantaged majority of South Africans (in especially blacks). Afrikaans medium education was, and still is, a political issue. Under apartheid these schools were much better resourced than schools for black South Africans: these schools have better qualified teachers teaching smaller groups of students in better infrastructure with superior resources. In this context, it is noteworthy to postulate that, for many Afrikaners, protecting the Afrikaans language was, and still is, a way of protecting exclusively white schools and supporting the Afrikaans language which has been a tool of oppression and protecting privilege and the legacy of apartheid. However, the school does not have the infrastructure or staff to provide teaching in English. It should be taken into consideration that there is a growing number of parents who wish to enroll their children in these well-resourced schools in the hope that their children will receive a quality decolonized education that affords them the same opportunities as the white students who attend these schools enjoy. However, the school's claims imply an implicit refusal to accept black students into the reservoir of higher knowledge that can emancipate the student, in an effort to preserve the pure white ethos and Afrikaner culture. This therefore demonstrates that despite the progressive constitution informing visions of a non-racist and non-sexist society, racial exclusion appears to be endemic and its permanence finds expression in South African schools. Understanding a Teacher's Role in the Development of Future Citizens The clever use of racial discrimination could be implicitly reinforced by absurd claims about the lack of infrastructure to accommodate black students. Critical theory helps us understand how the teacher can address the.