UNITY IN DIVERSITY: SA DEPT. OF ED STRIVES FOR NATIONAL IDENTITY AND CULTURAL AWARENESS

On Friday, July 6th, I had the opportunity to travel to Pretoria, some 70 kilometers from Johannesburg, to meet with representatives from the South African Department of Education; specifically, representatives from the Office of International Affairs and the Office of Diversity. It was a rather informative meeting and, while an incredibly daunting task, I came away impressed with the commitment shown by the government to address these issues.

Considering that, during Apartheid which only ended 13 years ago, there used to be 19 departments of education, now 11 official languages, and outdated different curriculum from the days of Apartheid - one for whites, coloureds, and blacks, it is remarkable that the government has had the ability to consolidate education initiatives. Indeed, it is the DOE that now mandates a single educational standard while the prefectural departments (9) are in control of carrying out the national mission and implementation. DOE priorities include: 1) establishing a national identity; 2) integrating the different ethnic groups within South Africa; and 3) to form a bridge with the rest of the African continent, and, by extension, a continental identity.

In terms of the celebration of diversity and looking at the legacy of Apartheid from a multicultural perspective, the DOE has established several interesting programs in its over 30,000 public schools. First, it has been collaborating with the Institute of Justice in Cape Town on developing curriculum materials on the Truth and Reconciliation Trials. The DOE also has formed partnerships with Project Citizen, a leadership building competition program for/by youth, and other values promotion organizations such as valued citizens and the SA Human Rights Commission. This is being done by concentrating on involving the whole school community (i.e. parents/community) in values education, providing teacher development, engendering whole school reform iniatives that involve the principal, teachers, parents, and youth representatives on SMTs - school management teams, engaging prefectural executive councils of education, and promoting whole school celebrations of national days. The DOE is also committed to helping both students and parents in understanding that along with rights, students still have responsibilities to the home.

One of the most interesting innovations was establishing a 2 year pilot program/advanced certificate training for teachers in values which then be recognized by the school system as a valid teaching credential. 72 educators from each of the nine provinces participated. Although the program has ended, many universities, now all desegregated, have established values degree programs. It is hoped that educators trained in these new programs will bring South Africa forward. Equally interesting, the DOE is encouraging prefectural departments of education to develop community centres of social development and health, in particularly poor areas, to empower local community members and to develop a network of community resources.

These model reforms must succeed as the public is becoming increasingly frustrated, as demonstrated by the recent strikes, over continual poverty and disenfranchisement after fourteen years of freedom from Apartheid.

The meeting concluded with a discussion on the possibility of follow-up educational visits to both the United States/South Africa for educators and students from both countries.