Multiple perceptions (teachers’, parents’, learners’) of Somali learner acculturation in a Cape Town primary school setting

Abstract

During the 1990s many Somali families settled in South Africa amid severe protracted inter-clan conflict in Somalia. Other Somali families migrated to the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and other western countries. Limited knowledge exists about the acculturation of the children of these families in their newly adopted western schools. No less is this the case of refugee and immigrant Somali learner descendants attending South African schools. This qualitative research project focuses on the school acculturation experiences of Somali learners attending a public primary school in one of the northern suburbs of Cape Town. The study involves the input of the three main education components, viz. teachers, parents and the learners.