The curriculum and pupils' responses : a case study in an open secondary school in South Africa
Date
1995
Authors
Cohen, Susan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
In the mid 1970s certain hitherto white private schools began
admitting pupils of other race groups. As desegregated schools
become more common in this country, there is need for curriculum
research that can inform both policy makers and practioners.
This study explores curriculum issues at a secondary
school ten years after it admitted pupils of all race groups.
Located within the qualitative research paradigm, this
research is an ethnographic case study based on a year's participant
observation in the school
The study focused on teachers' approaches to their work,
their aims, choice of material and methodology, academic
achievement patterns, perceptions of factors influencing
these and strategies for dealing with them; pupils' responses
to different curriculum content, teaching styles and
strategies, and the interplay between social interaction and
learning.
Within a framework of Similarity, there were differences among
black and white pupils' expectations of the school, their
evaluation of subjects, their prioritization of constructs of
good teaching and their evaluation of the school in fulfilling
key expectations. Black pupils underachieved academically.
and were relatively more sensitive to the subtle tension underlying
race group interaction.
The curriculum was perceived as basically assimilationist, and
most teaching conservative. geared toward narrow academic
aims. A small group of teachers who promoted a less
Eurocentric approach which tended to be more pupil-centered,
activity-based and issue-centered met some opposition from
their colleagues.
The study highlights the interplay between social interaction
and achievement, the need to address both social and personal
educational aims together with academic achievement. The findings
suggest that unless certain key curriculum changes are
implemented, black pupils are likely to remain academically
marginalized in open schools, and desegregated schools run
the risk of contributing little to social change.
Description
A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Education
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Keywords
School integration -- South Africa., Multicultural education -- South Africa., Education, Secondary -- South Africa., High school students -- South Africa., Curriculum planning -- South Africa
Citation
Cohen, Susan (1995) The curriculum and pupils' responses : a case study in an open secondary school in South Africa, university OF THE Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/22850>