It investigates the impact of self-development during the social interaction of culturally diverse students at Forest Haven High School. Profile of School Governing Body Members by Color Profile of Racial Incidents at School.
Motivation for the study
Self plays an essential role during the process of teaching and learning, especially in a multicultural school. The researcher is of the opinion that this type of education system will not be successful if the educators' training is not also multiculturalised.
Purpose of the present study
The researcher believes that it is necessary to know why there is tension in multicultural schools, what is its cause and how it can be ended or eliminated. After addressing all the above questions, the researcher thinks that the question of how education can help to overcome the legacy of differences created by apartheid should be addressed and an alternative education suitable for the South African situation will be given.
Assumptions upon which the present study is based
For the purpose of this study, former Indian and white schools are classified as multicultural if their students are from two or more racial groups. The development of the self is believed to be based on what a person has been socialized or taught.
Key concepts used in the study
Culture
Finally, the researcher assumes that learning tools and strategies play an important role in the development of the student's attitude towards other students. The recommendations that will be made in chapter six will be based on the results of the data collected.
Research audience
The findings (chapter five) and recommendations (chapter six) can create an awareness and understanding of the current state of education and provide a catalyst for possible changes in the future. This research may contribute to some changes (or even improvements) in the planning and implementation of daily classroom activities.
Limitations of the study
For the purpose of this study, the researcher has limited the scope of the term "culture" to denote a particular racial group. Finally, the researcher believes that this study will be limited to the analysis of teaching and learning in a multicultural school, identifying the problems and causes of cultural conflict in a multicultural school.
General structure of the present study
The empirical component of the study will include a non-participant observation period at Forest Haven High School. The fifth chapter will present an analysis of the data obtained and interpretations will be given.
Summary
Chapter Six will provide a summary of the study and list the conclusions and recommendations that will be formulated based on the data collected. The researcher begins by addressing the field of study, followed by the purpose of the study.
Introduction
Multiculturalism
The term "multicultural education" means different things to different people (Ryan It is not a subject (e.g. history) to be studied, but an approach to education which recognizes and values differences between students and seeks to create equal educational opportunities for all students by ensuring that the overall school environment reflects the diversity of groups in classrooms, schools and society as a whole (Banks, 1994:4). It has been a struggle for the recognition of minority cultures." In South Africa the demand for multicultural education has emerged out of the struggle against segregation and apartheid education.
Aims of multicultural education
In terms of multicultural education, this principle means that all people should begin by facing their own economic, social and cultural backgrounds, since the self of a student can greatly influence how well he or she does in the classroom. This is not only true for students, but also for teachers, especially when teaching students from different cultural backgrounds. something of personal relevance to their lives in the curriculum and school practice. ii) Multicultural education must be aimed at decentralizing people and thus depolarizing intercultural hostility and conflicts. This does not necessarily mean that multicultural education must lead to greater cultural awareness. iii).
The implementation of multicultural education should be a long-term process with sufficient flexibility to accommodate any shifts and changes in the curriculum and school practices. Multicultural education should begin with modest goals and the existing curriculum with small multicultural units. This . enables educators to grow in confidence, develop a long-term commitment to multicultural education, and actively pursue their personal growth and development in the field. iv) Multicultural education should involve intervention not only in curriculum content but also in teaching practices and social relations in the classroom.
Such activities stimulate interest, enhance learning, and help develop community support for multicultural education programs.
Researcher's approach to multicultural education
The reason why the researcher decided to do this is to show how important and effective multicultural education is in bringing about national reconciliation and cultural tolerance in a multicultural society. In the 1970s and early 1980s, multicultural education was seen by many liberal educationalists as the new panacea for solving the educational problems faced by minority students; the 'common sense' solution of its time. This enthusiasm for multicultural education is also reinforced by the apparent ease with which multicultural programs can be adopted.
Finally, it was made clear by the researcher, especially in this chapter, that for multicultural education to be effective, it must at least embrace certain principles discussed in paragraph 2.5 of this chapter. Although multicultural education is seen by many authors as an education for national reconciliation, this does not make it above criticism. While this criticism of multicultural education is one with which the researcher largely agrees, the problem with combining critical educational theory and practice remains.
According to Cross, Mkwanazi-Twala and Klein, the problem with multicultural education is that it would do very little to address existing cultural and social imbalances in South Africa.
Summary
The researcher agrees with Doby et al (1954) and also with Merriam (1988:6) when he defines research design as a plan to collect, organize and integrate information (data) and it results in a specific end product (research results). The researcher's concerns in the present study involve a case study approach or a 'research design'. Based on that, the researcher feels that there is a need for the present study.
In the current study the researcher will try to use quantitative and qualitative research methods. This is why the researcher will use questionnaires as a data collection tool in the present study. It is on the basis of this that the researcher thinks that unstructured interviews will be suitable for the present study.
It is against this background that the researcher feels that classroom observations will be.
Introduction
In the present study an attempt will be made to explain the basis of the social condition of education. With this in mind we will now look at the analysis of the development of self. It is from this point that Mead's analysis of the development of self is relevant to the present study.
According to Merrill, the play stage in the development of the self is the most complex stage. The concept society is very well related to the development of the self As already explained, society is the individual's social environment. It has been pointed out that the "I" aspect of the self predominates during the individual's interaction with others.
Based on this, the researcher believes that this study emphasizes the importance of three stages of self-development.
Establishing a link between the ideas of Mead (1934) and Berger and Luckmann (1967)
The contribution made by Berger and Luckmann (1967) is clearly useful for analysis in the present study because it increases the understanding of the dialectical process that occurs during the development of the self and that exists between the home and a multicultural school. This idea is closely related to the dynamic conception of the individual in the process of interaction. Berger and Luckmann explain that the subjective appropriation of identity and the subjective appropriation of the social world are simply different aspects of the same internalization process, mediated by the same significant others.
It is language that must be internalized above all, because it is the vehicle of the socialization process (Berger and Luckmann. Primary socialization ends when the concept of the generalized other (and everything that goes with it) is established in the consciousness of Beyond this, it is relatively easy to ignore the reality of secondary internalization.
In a sense, the potential adult is formed during the development of the self at this stage.
CHAPTER FIVE
Analysis and interpretation of data
Classroom performance of Black learners in a former Indian school
The principal, as well as educators, stated that black students are not able to cope with classroom work like Indian students. The main reason given for the poor performance of many black students is their lack of competence in the use of the English language. . Another reason given by the principal is that black students come from village schools which are said to provide poor quality education as a result of Bantu education which was implemented in 1953 (Christie, 1991:56). Vally and Dalamba (1999: 9) state that through legislative provisions contained in the Bantu Education Act of 1953, the extension of the University Education Act of 1959, the Colored Persons Act of 1963, the Indian Education Act of 1995 and In the National Education Act of 1967, black education was explicitly linked to the goals of political, economic, and social domination of all black people.
Before apartheid, from the first slave school in 1658 and throughout the colonial period, education was designed to place blacks in subordinate positions in a racially structured division of labor and aimed to reproduce that structure. In 1986, the then Minister of National Education, FW de Klerk, announced a ten-year plan to finance the upgrading of black education. Most black kids who failed high school graduation couldn't be reintegrated into the system.
According to them, in 1990, white and other racial groups schools were allowed to admit black students under limited conditions, which included a stipulation that the schools remain 51 percent.
