Governance and language policy in three schools in the Western Cape : opportunity for deliberative democracy?
Date
2020-12
Authors
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Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Accompanying the introduction of a new outcomes-based curriculum, were significant shifts towards decentralised school-based management, which are seen as critical to the democratisation of schools. At the centre of this democratisation is the introduction of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) (Act 84 of 1996). SGBs, by virtue of how they are constituted, are considered as seedbeds for democratic participation. Through the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996), SGBs are afforded unprecedented authority in the governance of public schools. Principals, educators, parents, as well as community members and learners (in the case of high schools) are provided with the opportunity to participate in collective decision-making regarding the daily functioning of schools. These functions include the design and formulation of all school-based policies, including that of language, which is the interest and focus of this thesis.
No policy has generated more contestation and controversy than that of a school’s language policy. Significantly, most of this contestation has centred on Afrikaans-medium schools – raising inevitable questions not only about language, but about the role of the SGB in relation to the formulation of language policy. This research looks at the formulation and implementation of a language policy at three public Afrikaans-medium schools in the Western Cape. Using a phenomenological research paradigm, the study engaged with principals, educators and parents, as it tried to gain insights into the considerations of SGBs in relation to formulating a language policy. The findings reveal that SGBs are not necessarily representative of all learners and communities in their schools, and that a lack of adequate representation might hold particular consequences for a school’s language policy. SGB members do not necessarily have the requisite skills - that is, language policy formulation is undertaken by individuals who neither understand language policy and practice, nor the needs of learners. Despite new intakes of learners from various contexts and linguistic abilities, the language policy of a school is seldom changed. Moreover, while SGBs recognise that schools ought to serve a public good, they should have a degree of autonomy, which allows them to act in the best interests of their respective school communities, which includes formulating a language policy of their choice.
In light of the surrounding contestations, which have resulted in numerous legal battles between SGBs and provincial education departments with regards to language policies, I consider the possibility of deliberative democracy as a viable way of addressing this impasse.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Geen opsomming beskikbaar.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Geen opsomming beskikbaar.
Description
Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2020.
Keywords
Language policy -- Western Cape (South Africa), Schools -- Western Cape (South Africa), Deliberative democracy, UCTD