Race, class, and the democratic project in contemporary South African education

Working and reworking the law

Bibliographic Data

ID21639843
AuthorsCrain Soudien (0000-0002-9934-6532, University of Cape Town, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume31
Publication date2023-09-19
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation Policy Analysis Archives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1068-2341 • E-ISSN: 1068-2341
PublisherMary Lou Fulton College for Teaching and Learning Innovation (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.14507/epaa.31.8017
OpenAlexW4386859962
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited6

Democratization of the South African education system was significantly advanced by the South African Schools Act (SASA) promulgated in 1996. SASA gave parents the power to direct the course and substance of their children’s education in important ways. The circumstances of its origination, however, left in place crucial features of the country’s apartheid education system. Central among these were white parent’s rights to determine their schools’ admission and language policies. In this contribution I explore the tensions over democratic principles experienced by the South African government in correcting SASA to manage parents’ control over these key school policies. I do so through a critical engagement with the positions that have emerged in the process currently underway to consider the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA). I argue these positions represent a struggle in play over whether the future South African school system will be marked by ongoing and new forms of race and class domination

Democracy · Democratization · Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Diverse Education Studies and Reforms · Education Systems and Policy · Gender Studies · Law · Parental Involvement in Education · Public Administration

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