Education under Apartheid (review of Peter Kallaway (ed.), The History of Education under Apartheid, 1948-1994: The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall Be Opened)¶
Gary McCulloch (2004). Education under Apartheid (review of Peter Kallaway (ed.), The History of Education under Apartheid, 1948-1994: The Doors of Learning and Culture Shall Be Opened). Journal of Southern African Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2. Taylor & Francis.
| Type | other |
| Scope | Wider apartheid literature |
| Method | synthesis review |
| Period studied | 1948–1994 |
| Regions | South Africa, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Tanzania (ANC exile education) |
| Themes | education human capital, politics ideology elections, resistance social movements, origins segregation, transition post apartheid |
| Citation key | mcculloch2004 |
Argument¶
McCulloch reviews Kallaway's edited volume, presenting it as a strong, well-balanced collection that begins a project to rewrite the history of South African education. The volume argues that apartheid education was not monolithic, that policy differed from everyday practice, and that there were long-term continuities in policy and discourse, including into the post-apartheid period. The review summarises the four sections (shifts and continuities, resistance and alternative education, life stories, identities and institutions). It judges the chapters uneven in evidential weight but mostly purposeful. It regrets the absence of a concluding editorial chapter.
Evidence and method¶
This is a book review, not original research. It describes the contributors' sources as archival and interview evidence, including 80 teacher interviews in Soudien's chapter, published autobiographies, photographs, and ANC exile-school records.
Place in the debates¶
- Rupture vs continuity in apartheid-era education policy and discourse (see Education, Bantu Education and skills). The volume, as reported by the reviewer, stresses both major convulsions and longer-term continuities. Kraak argues that structural continuities have limited real change after 1994.
- Apartheid education as a form of colonial education vs unique (see Education, Bantu Education and skills). Kallaway's introduction raises the question of how far it was colonialism for indigenous peoples as practised elsewhere and how unique it was. The review does not report a settled answer.
- Policy intent vs everyday practice, and accommodation vs resistance (see Education, Bantu Education and skills). The volume emphasises the gap between policy and practice, and teachers' responses ranged from outright resistance to active acceptance.
Findings¶
-
The collection is framed as the first stage of a major project to rewrite the history of South African education. (p. 2)
the first part of an extensive project to rewrite the history of education in South Africa
-
Kallaway argues that existing understanding of apartheid education is thin despite its significance. (p. 2)
limited and fragmentary
-
Fleisch finds that the Eiselen Report shifted power from civil society to the apartheid bureaucracy while drawing on established assumptions and foreign policy borrowing. (p. 2)
decisive shift in the balance of power from civil society to the new bureaucracy of the apartheid state
-
Kraak traces discursive change in vocational education and training from the De Lange Report through the Walters Report and Education Renewal Strategy to the ANC era, alongside structural continuity. (p. 2)
the racial terminology of the De Lange Report on education in South Africa (1981), through the free-market language of the Walters Report and Education Renewal Strategy of the early 1990s
-
Kraak concludes that continuities have constrained post-apartheid change. (p. 3)
have severely limited the possibility of any real change
-
Soudien's study of 80 teacher interviews shows a spectrum of responses to the introduction of apartheid education. (p. 3)
based on 80 interviews with teachers, is an especially well developed study that shows the range of responses from outright resistance through strategic resistance and compliance
-
Research on ANC exile education in Tanzania shows a gap between ideals and realities. (p. 3)
demon- strates the wide differences that often exist between ideals and realities
-
The reviewer notes the need for gender research in schools whose racial and class inequalities are already well documented. (p. 3)
the need for further detailed research into gender regimes and relations in the context of schools whose racial inequalities and class differences have already been thoroughly exposed
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eiselen Report on Native Education (1951) | commission or official report | 1951 | Fleisch's chapter reads the report to show a shift of power from civil society to the apartheid bureaucracy and the borrowing of policy from other countries. |
| De Lange Report on education in South Africa (1981) | commission or official report | 1981 | Kraak uses it as the starting point for tracing discursive shifts in vocational education and training. |
| Walters Report and Education Renewal Strategy (early 1990s) | commission or official report | early 1990s | Kraak treats it as the free-market phase in the discourse on vocational education and training. |
| ANC archival records on Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College and Dakawa Development Centre | state archives | 1978-1992 | Archival and interview evidence is used to show gaps between the ANC's educational ideals and practice, for example on corporal punishment. |
| Interviews with Bantu school students and teachers on gender violence (Morrell and Moletsane) | interviews oral history | apartheid-era schooling | Interviews are the basis for a discussion of violent gender relations in Bantu schools. |
| Published autobiographies of two women teachers (Unterhalter) | other | apartheid era | Used as life-story evidence on women teachers' experience. |
| Soudien's interviews with teachers on responses to apartheid education | interviews oral history | introduction of apartheid education | 80 interviews establish the range of teacher responses from resistance to acceptance. |
| Soudien and Nekhwevha interviews with Africans in the Western Cape | interviews oral history | apartheid era | Interviews are used to examine African attitudes to schooling. |
| Photographic images of schools (Karlsson) | other | apartheid era | Photographs are read for what they reveal about apartheid school life. |
| Case records of Ashley and Gasant, Ottery School of Industries (Badroomien) | state archives | apartheid era | Two committed boys' experiences illustrate the welfare and correctional motives behind policy. |
Inference¶
Quantification: None.
This is a book review of an edited collection. The reviewer summarises chapters that rely on case studies, document and discourse analysis of official reports, archives, interviews, life histories and photographs. The reviewer does not analyse data, and the claims rest on the chapters' qualitative evidence and on the reviewer's own judgement.
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| The Eiselen Report marked a decisive shift of power from civil society to the apartheid bureaucracy, while also drawing on established assumptions and policy borrowed from abroad. (p. 406) | Fleisch's reading of the 1951 Eiselen Report, as reported by the reviewer. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
| Discursive shifts in vocational education and training from De Lange to Walters to the ANC period concealed structural continuities that limited real change. (p. 407) | Kraak's comparison of the De Lange, Walters and Education Renewal Strategy documents and post-1994 policy. | Partial data |
| ANC exile education showed wide gaps between ideals and practice, such as corporal punishment being used despite a ban and 'education with production' being undermined. (p. 407) | Archival and interview evidence on the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College and Dakawa, as reported by the reviewer. | Partial data |
| Teachers responded to apartheid education in varied ways, from outright resistance through strategic resistance and compliance to active acceptance. (p. 407) | Soudien's 80 teacher interviews. | Partial data |
| The collection's chapters vary in their evidential weight, and the biographical section rests on less substantial evidence. (p. 407) | The reviewer's own assessment of the chapters. | Asserted |
| Understanding of apartheid education has been limited and fragmentary, and the apartheid regime was not monolithic, with tensions between policy and everyday practice. (p. 406) | Kallaway's introduction as summarised by the reviewer; no data cited. | Asserted |
The author's caveats¶
The reviewer notes that some chapters are 'based on a greater weight of research evidence than others' and that the biographical chapters rest on less substantial evidence. He gives no detailed discussion of data limitations.
Gaps in the evidence¶
This is a review, so it gives no systematic evidence of its own. Claims about apartheid education would be better tested with quantitative data on enrolment, expenditure per pupil, pass rates and teacher qualifications by race, together with Department of Bantu Education archives. Most of these official statistics and archives existed at the time and are now accessible, and they could be set beside the interview and life-history material.
Replicability: Not applicable.