2.5 Research design
2.5.2 The research context
2.5.2.3 Zulu culture: a complicated issue at Hilltop School
53 2.5.2.2.2 The role of mentorship for the Deaf
Internationally documented statistics reveal that more than 90% of D/deaf children are born to families with little or no experiences of deafness (Aarons & Akach, 2002; Heap & Morgans, 2006; Akach, 2010) Therefore, Patkin (2011) advocates that role modelling and mentorship are an integral part of the dynamics of Deaf culture. Like everyone else, the Deaf need inspiration and motivation to believe that they can succeed, especially if they are born to hearing parents whom they often view as different from themselves. He emphasises that it is important for young Deaf people to have Deaf role models who have been through similar life experiences, since many parents of Deaf children not only have limited experiences with deafness, but also lack an understanding of early childhood education and especially the importance of language acquisition.
Research by Foster & MacLeod (2004) further illustrates the integral role of mentorship in Deaf culture. They conducted a study of D/deaf graduates from the Rochester Institute in New York who became supervisors in primary hearing settings. Results of the study indicated that having a Deaf mentor was a primary and persistent element in their career success. Participants reported that having a Deaf mentor enabled them to break through barriers to career success in spite of experiencing various limitations to their skills and abilities. Research findings from the University of Utah, U.S.A also demonstrated that children (from birth to five years) who were part of a three-year mentorship programme gained significantly from having Deaf mentors. Diagnostic tests conducted on a six-month basis demonstrated that children with Deaf mentors showed greater gains in receptive and expressive language and performed better on other linguistic tests (including English grammar tests) than those children without mentors (Watkins, Pittman and Walden, 1998).
Thus mentorship can be viewed as being integral to the learning context of Hilltop School.
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Zulu people are considered to be an ethnic group in South Africa. The Zulus are one of the largest ethnic groups in the country and are descendants of the Nguni tribe who migrated south from central to East Africa to settle in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Since the inception of apartheid legislation and policies in South Africa, people have been categorised and officially classified in terms of their ‘race’. Four major race groups were identified: Whites, Indians, Coloureds and Black. Over the past fifty years the labels of these categories have changed. For example, Indians were referred to as Asians and Africans were referred to as Native, Bantu or Africans. Africans were further categorised into cultural and ethnic groups such as Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The main reason for the differentiation was essentially to fulfil one of the primary objectives of apartheid: to relegate the African population of South Africa to
‘homelands’, with each homeland being designated for a particular ethnic African group. The racial classification of South Africans influenced every aspect of their lives: where they lived, where they attended school, who they interacted with, what they had access to and their social relations (May, 2004; Hall & Carter, 2006; Leach, Behrens & LeFleur, 2002).
One of the most prominent aspects of the school culture is language. Hall and Carter (2006) point out that culture and language are part of the same system of meaning and that language is an integral part of any culture. Hence, as discussed earlier in this chapter, Sign Language is the language of the Deaf but English is the business and written language of the school. isiZulu, which is the third language, is used mostly by staff and parents for communication. Learners use Sign Language as their mother tongue and English as their first additional language, despite the fact that they all belong to the Zulu ethnic group.
Since the majority of staff are Zulu, isiZulu is a spoken language at the school. At meetings and in the classrooms, Sign Language and English are used. isiZulu is often the language of choice at all social events, for example religious services, staff parties and other social functions. In addition, a large number of the non-academic staff have a limited understanding of English and use isiZulu as their main form of communication. As a result, there is a dependence not only on Sign Language interpreters but also interpreters for English-speaking staff, who are a minority.
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Zulu songs and dance, which are an integral part of Zulu culture, feature prominently at all school functions (Figs 7 and 8) and it is through these forms of expression that Zulu values and norms are passed on to the learners from an early age.
Figure 7. Learners in Zulu attire.
Figure 8. Modelling our cultural traditions, norms and values.
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Hostel staff also play an influential role in the transmission of Zulu traditions and values. The fact that all hostel staff who play a paternal role are from the Zulu ethnic group reinforces the Zulu culture at the school. It is in this way that Zulu culture becomes an integral part of the lives of learners from an early age. However, I have observed that although Deaf and Zulu culture are acquired simultaneously, Deaf culture remains the dominant culture for learners at Hilltop School.
Concluding thoughts
It is clear that the very complex and diverse context of my study has had a direct impact on my understanding of my leadership, and how I experience it. It takes effort and commitment from the leadership and management of the school to manage diversity. My readings have illuminated for me some of the issues related to the issue of diversity and school leadership. Research internationally and in South Africa has demonstrated that schools that serve highly diverse populations have many inherent conflicting cultures, each of which has an impact on the general socio-cultural context (Aleman, 2009; Brown, 2010; Chao, Wei, Good & Flores, 2011; Arnold, 2005; Petersen, 2008). According to complexity leadership theories, leaders must work with complexity and not try to reduce it (Olmedo, 2012). Brown (2010) emphasises that a school that accepts diversity and recognises the contributions of all the people in it is healthier and more productive than a school that does not. Schools that treat the diversity of their people as a strength are better able to adapt to the changes taking place in the rest of society, achieve their goals and objectives, and provide a richer learning and working environment for all its members (Olmedo, 2012; Lim, 2009).
The complexities and tensions that arise out of this diverse environment are elaborated on in my narrative.