The Education System Of South Africa

The author compares today’s school system to that of the past, which concerned itself with teaching students,

3. The author compares today’s school system to that of the past, which concerned itself with teaching students,

Critical theory is focused on critiquing and changing society as a whole, compared to other theory that only which to understand our existing society. The theory reveals how society can portray unethic and unjust actions as normal. Racism and the modern day Jim Crow (the mass incarceration of blacks) is seen as normal to our eyes due to the power that influences us. Some may argue that Chris Hayes book can be a critique on how society is now, in which he see the society throw a critical theorist lens. Structural Functionalist

Critical race theory recognizes that in a society, the racism is inevitable which leads to the exploitation of people of inferior races in the hand of people of superior race. The theory recognizes that the power structure in the society leads to the exploitation of coloured people by white people.

I am attracted to critical theory first of all due to its links with Marxism. For me, Marxism is the exact model of what a theory should be. It describes, explains and predicts the outcome of a specific social situation. While the processes prescribed may be contestable- in fact, every idea should be contestable-, the fact that it attempts to fulfill all aspects of a theory makes Marxism the all-time great. But this reading is not about Marxism, it is about critical theory. So, what is critical theory? How is the theory applied in society? What are the major ideas that it draw from? What are the major flaws in the theory and how has the theory itself contributed to its downfall?

Education has had three phases of development according, to Van Krieken, 2013. Each phase being associated with a set of beliefs about the nature and purpose of education. Firstly, the advent of the modern system from the mid-19th century to World War II, influenced chiefly by liberal humanist ideas. Secondly, post World War II expansion into the late 1970’s was influenced by social democratic beliefs. Finally, the increased marketisation of education which has been influenced by neoliberalism since the 1980’s (Krieken, 2013, p. 149).

Critical theory, on the other hand, as propounded by Robert Cox is a rejoinder to Neo-realism. According to Mark Rupert, Neo-Realism “only describes patterns in the operation of power among States without inquiring as to the social relations through which that power is produced.” Critical theory assumes that power is not given in the form of accumulated material capabilities; in fact, it is a product of social processes. Robert Cox adopted a method of “historical structures” in which “state power ceases to be sole explanatory factor and becomes part of what is to be explained”.

Critical theory is divided into three sub-theories: Max Horkheimer’s emancipatory normative and critical thinking playing a role in the formation of democracy; Herbert Marcuse’s metaphilosophy and use of reasoning. The central aim of Horkheimer’s critical theory was the formation of a democratic state where the society constitutes of rational individuals with conscious control over the matters of both public and private life. He asserted in the Traditional and Critical theory (Ingram), individuals should become producers of their social life in totality. This is the path set up for others to follow to question the anti-democratic trend in then fascist society. Hence, Critical theory took on different turn focusing on the close bond between the state and the market in capitalism. This is an expansion of Marxian criticism of the

America’s educational system has the purpose of teaching the younger generations the basic knowledge and life skills needed to live. The system has thrived under direction of that was originally set up many years ago. Today the school system has been progressively focused more on getting children through, than teaching them knowledge and having them learn. The standards must be met for a school to succeed, the teachers must meet the deadline and requirements for the school. Their focus has now shifted from the children to the deadline. That is not the purpose of the education system. Please allow the time to read the reasoning and what is seen as a problem and how it can be resolved to help the next generation’s needs be well equipped to take

It is a common and well known saying that history repeats itself. This saying has more to it than the literal definition of it, it means we need to study it and learn from it, in order to avoid repetition. Often times we have that opportunity to study and learn from history in a way that can impact the future, in a hopefully positive way. In terms of education, improvement and innovation is always a top priority. If we can properly combine the study of other cultures with the study of history, we can have an extremely effective tool for learning ways to positively impact our own generation and future. In this essay, I will attempt to uncover the differences between current education and traditional African education, with intention of learning how to apply it today. The idea behind studying history is that it is a vital part of learning and adopting successful techniques and a good tool for avoiding the repetition of mistakes. If pre-colonial Africa can have success without the resources and technologies we have today, then it is valuable to invest time and effort in mirroring some of their methods.

According to this theory, critical awareness requires recognition that the social status of an individual, including educational and economic prospects and opportunities, is largely result from its race, gender, and class so the critical theorists want to raise the consciousness of these people dealing with education, knowledge, the school, and teaching and learning. Furthermore, they see the curriculum into 2 parts: the official curriculum which requires teaching subjects and specific skills, and the Hidden curriculum which imposes approved behaviors and attitudes on students through the school environment. They believe that teachers should empower themselves, because they can transform schools into democratic public spheres.

Education in Lesotho is divided into four main sub-sectors, namely Basic education, Secondary Education, Technical vocational Education and Training and High Education.

I cannot write this essay without reference to study of my own experienced and my daughter’s- placed in the harsh environment of the government schooling system and its observations of the stark belief systems of “the child to fit the system” and not “the system to fit the child” with reference to the what education should be about. This means different things to different people. To some this means a teacher teaching and passive learning taking place, the outcome is expected at the end of each year that each child has to achieve the same outcome and is graded accordingly.

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

Throughout the history of civilization, education has been an important tool in shaping an individual as well as the society that the individual is a part of. In the older civilizations, only the elite upper class had access to education. This kept these people at the top of the social ladder, and suppressed the common people who did not have access to the same education as the nobles. We have come a long way since then, with every child having access to a free high school degree. However, there is still some inequality in this modern education system that has similarities to the old injustices. In this day and age, a college degree is a great start for a young adult starting to enter the work force. According to a study conducted by Pew