Authority in Schooling in post 1990 South Africa

Abstract

I contextualise my argument in favour of a retrieval of authority in schooling by means of a brief discussion of each of the following : (l) schooling in chaos, (2) reasons for the erosion of teacher authority due to the broader political picture, (3) democratisation of schooling as a specific reason for the erosion of teacher authority, (4) arguments contra democratisation of schooling, (5) on the nature of authority and (6) freedom and authority - an introduction to the argument presented in this mini thesis. There is a widespread understanding that schooling in South Africa is in chaos. Discussions about the schooling crisis a.re commonplace. And, schooling does appear to be in crisis. There are many concerns that need to be addressed. There is the problem of insufficient finding for education. There is the uncertainty that teachers suffer in their jobs. There is also the problem of the "lost generation", students who missed great chunks of schooling while the African National Congress (ANC) was pursuing its ideal of making the country ungovernable during the 1980's. I will return to this issue shortly. That much of our schooling is in chaos can be gauged from the absence of almost any form of order and discipline in far too many of our schools. This absence of order and discipline might be attributed, at least in part, to the collapse of teacher authority. How did this collapse of authority happen? In our recent past we had the National Party government almost at war with students even in the streets of our city centres. During the 1980s police and the army were so visible that we come to expect their presence just about everywhere. Armoured vehicles constantly prowled our townships in a display of brute military power. This was in response to escalating resistance to the government of the day. Resistance had to escalate when dealing with a brutal and violent state. Eventually resistance of a particular kind reached schools. Class boycotts were common for much of the 1980s. Students, who were now involved in all kinds of resistance from mass rallies, to mass meetings, to consumer boycotts, were learning to ask questions regarding the legitimacy of the state. The net result was that students changed. They were not just becoming politically aware, they were also coming to see their own power as a destructive political force. Students had become key players in the resistance movement in the county.