The aim of the study is to investigate how African students experience their daily experiences at a former House of Representatives school, which still has a predominantly Indian student population. These have emphasized and clarified many of the concepts that guided the course of this study.
Theory of Oppression
This intersection creates unique and special experiences that, according to Sayed (2003), must be viewed from a multidimensional perspective, as there is no single or dual category of oppression that causes the experiences that people have. In the South African context, racism is often defined as a form of oppression, and while policies and reforms focus on race, they overlook embedded inequalities that stem from class, cultural, gender, religious and linguistic differences.
Conceptual Considerations
Integration and Desegregation
Given that schools in South Africa are now desegregated, due to legislation, the issue of integration comes into focus. In schools where students come from different residential areas, social integration becomes difficult due to geographical limitations.
Power and Power Relations
Brandt (1986) believes that revealing the "hidden" curriculum is one of the most important functions of anti-racist teaching. He believes that the tangible and intangible aspects of a school, often called the "ethos" of a school, form the most powerful tools of exclusion and marginalization.
Assimilation, Critical Multiculturalism and Critical Antiracism
May (1999) believes that anti-racism openly confronts questions about the power dimensions of racism and would insist that equal attention be paid to cultural differences between all people, including those within racialized groups. Carrim and Soudien (1999) assert that ignoring cultural diversity within racialized groups is actually a reified form of racism.
Conclusion
Brandt (1986) argues that while multiculturalism seeks to respond to the experiences of ethnic minorities, antiracism gives them an active and central role. Anti-racism is therefore dynamic and active and its processes are described as dismantling, deconstructive and reconstructive.
EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON INTEGRATION AND DESEGREGATION
- Introduction
- Studies in South Africa
- International Research
- Conclusion
These undertones were revealed in the Indians' mocking and teasing of the African students. Students reported feeling ashamed to speak due to their limited command of the English language. Although teachers claimed to treat all students equally, their classroom practices revealed differences in their interactions with Indian and African students.
However, they admitted that they felt uncomfortable in the presence of the new students, mainly because they had had limited contact with them. The purpose of this study was to depict the experiences of educators, students and parents who had experienced the integration process in the decade since independence. The students experienced difficulties during the transition, but the majority of blacks in the study indicated that they did not want to leave the integrated suburban school.
The purpose of the research was to expose the many areas that affect the emotional, academic and physical well-being of children in the classroom. Wright (1992) concluded that both Asian and Afro-Caribbean children experienced negative educator interaction in the classroom.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
- Introduction
- Methodological Approach
- Research Design
- Data Collection Methods and Measurement Instruments
- Non-participant observation
- Focus Group Interview
- Tapes and transcripts
- Selection of Sample
- Data Analysis Procedures
Research design refers to the logical structure of the inquiry so that unambiguous conclusions are reached. Different data collection methods may be used in each of the designs (de Vaus, 2002). Non-participant observation of students on the playground and in their classroom provided triangulation to confirm their stories.
The learners were informed about the research and the interviews, but not about the observation for fear of creating inhibitions. It was important to learn about the experiences of the African learners from those who actually experienced it. Closer to the date of the interviews, they were informed that five girls and five boys could volunteer to be interviewed.
The data generated from the observation phase of the research informed the interview phase, while the interview phase motivated the focus group discussion. The transcripts of the interviews were indexed by the themes that emerged in each critical incident.
PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS
Introduction
Observation of educators
We must keep them under control and teach them our way, or our school will end up like all the others. African students are immediately seen as objects to be changed to fit the environment, namely, an Indian school. Even when educators try to be helpful, they do so by emphasizing the differences between Indian and African students.
For example, one teacher found it helpful when she sat African students next to each other. However, the students saw this as the teacher's attempt to keep them away from the Indian children. It is clear from these comments and other similar interludes that the accommodation of African students is largely superficial and patronizing.
Although the research question is about the learners' experiences, I believe that an exposition of the "hidden" feelings of the educators can provide some verification for the learners' perceptions. This is supported by Rist (1978) who writes that an analysis of the desegregation and integration experiences of all children is incomplete without an analysis of their interaction with adults, especially their principal and teachers in the school.
Observation of Learners
On several occasions the Year 7 students were called upon to solve a problem encountered by the younger children. In the classroom, the students felt comfortable with the African students, but in the playground, the group became a threat to the Indian students, especially those who teased and mocked. There were often incidents, no matter how small, that indicated that the African students were annoyed by the Indian students.
For example, Gl once went up to an Indian child who was much taller than her and punched her in the face. African students settled their arguments themselves, while the Indian students sought help from the teacher on duty. During the interviews it became clear that the African children did not have much confidence in the objectivity of the educators.
Another observation on the playground was that the prefects most often made the African students pick up litter.
Learner Interview Data 1. Duration at this school
- Happy experiences
Four of the boys had only African friends, while B4 included an Indian in his friend list. Their friends were predominantly African because only the African boys "wanted to be friends." Three of the boys indicated that the Indian boys did not want to be friends with them. The girls mentioned sports, playing with friends, the condition of the school, the quality of teaching and the acquisition of stationery as things that made them happy at this school.
Most of the girls referred to their netball games as a source of joy and fun. They add that such educators have the support of the scientific racists who believe that blacks are biologically deficient. English is a 0/eleven official language, but it is still recognized as the language of the privileged.
Many students, especially the girls, shed tears and spoke with trembling lips during their interviews. It often happens out of earshot of the caregiver, but has a traumatic effect on the African child. Students are aware of the racist implications of their teachers' comments, but do not respond because of the embedded power relationship.
It is clear that the following stereotypes are established from school. This view is supported by Adams, Bell and Griffin (1997) who believe that our early experiences and the socialization process that instill in us the sets of attitudes, values and beliefs that support racism.
Conclusion
Introduction
Overview of the study
These findings highlight the dominant ethos of the school and raise the issues of assimilation, multiculturalism, critical anti-racism and the socialization cycle.
Breaking the Cycle of Socialization
Critical Anti-racism
At the heart of critical anti-racism is the issue of stereotypical grouping, which assumes that racial groups are homogenous. This raises the issue of the intersection of factors such as class, gender and ability, which according to D'amant et al (2003) have been totally ignored. This must be taken into account to address racist practices, thinking and processes.
Based on my observation of the school in the study, it is recommended that a critical anti-racist multicultural approach to education be adopted. The overall school environment and social life must be changed to promote socialization both inside and outside school. Activities organized by the school must be inclusive of all cultures and there must be representation.
Sport can be a unifying factor, but the students in the squad showed they were not welcome in the all-Indian cricket team. In the absence of a comprehensive anti-racist education policy, it is not surprising that school educators adopt the "business as usual" attitude noted by Sleeter and Grant (1994: 18).
Implications for Teacher Development
Teaching and learning become charged with emotions and educators must be equipped to deal with these emotions. They need to know their students in order to provide equal opportunities for learning and success.
Conclusion
Ballard (2003) argues that inclusion is about social justice and that graduates entering the teaching profession should understand how they can create classrooms and schools that address issues of respect, equity and justice. Indian and African students in a Durban desegregation school: A case of turning the other into the same. Smith (Eds.), Stories out of school: Memories and reflections on care and cruelty in the classroom.
Freer (Ed.), Towards open schools: Possibilities and realities for non-racial education in South Africa. Training South African teachers for the challenge of school integration: Towards a teaching and research agenda. Foreword. In J. Naidoo, Racial integration of public schools in South Africa: A study of practices and trends.
Klein (Eds.), Dealing with diversity in South African education: a debate on the politics of a national curriculum.
