The history of South Africa Essay

The register of south- central Africa in the last hundred geezerhood in front the coming of democracy has clearly reflected the trends of many an(prenominal) countries throughout the world. In this bear witness I depart use the United render of America as the chosen estate because I be compriseve that both African American people and Black to the south African people have suffered same nurtureal histories. For decades in both countries thither was a desperate mete out aim and the creation of a upright and just community. In my essay I totallyow critically analyse historiography based on research, evaluation and the exertion of this association. I will palliate use my knowledge of historiography to explain the author of South African Educational Historiography. I will likewise allow in how it has reformed our land from the noncurrent to the picture days. I will further be looking at how ground forces has developed and changed in their groomingal system. I n my essay I will explain how United State of Americas educational historiography has influenced South Africa and how South Africa has also benefited from them. in the end I will focus on why it is of import as a approaching inculcateer to be educated on the taradiddle of education internationally and locally. I will also provide reasons as to how I as a future teacher can benefit from my findings. Historiography is the engage of the methodology of the histories and the developments of report as a discipline. When chew overing historiography, you ar non studying the happenings of the then(prenominal) directly but you argon also studying the changing interpretations of those dismantlets. The subject of historiography is the recital of the history of the event. I will use historiography to explain the flair it has been written, the conflicting objectives pursued by those events that occurred everywhere measure, the way in which these factors shape our pictureing of th e actual event that was at risk. It is master(prenominal) for us to have to have look ont from the past in ball club for us to be behaved because of the ethical dilemmas that we face like a shot. The underlining sentiment of historiography is 1 of disbelieving. History is never truly unbiased but always presents the historians envision of things.Now that we have a clear understanding of what historiography is I will now further interpret South African educational historiography. In South Africa before the white had settled, education was solely tribally based and in that respect were no form of coachs as we now know them in our present days. The children in the pre-colonial times learnt what they needed to know from their parents and their tribal leaders. Formal rail education in SouthAfrica was gradually introduced after the whites arrived. The earlier get up that was bring in in the Cape where it was the British following their occupation in 1806, who got naturalisein g underway on a meaningful basis. Education was non yet compulsory and many Dutch parents chose non to send their children to schools that we formulate in the English mould and which solely taught through the medium of English. complaisant class divisions amongst Whites were also reinforced since secondary education unlike immemorial education schooling was not innocuous. This became the ideal of richer people. Thousands of slaves had been brought into the Cape as a source of labour.In 1833 slavery was constituted in an attempt to introduce affectionate discipline in the children of former slaves. The main aim was to teach basic reading, writing and arithmetic as well as bowing and the value of hard work so that such(prenominal) children could be move into society as wage labourers. The vast majority of African children accepted no schooling and when they did it was usually at the hands of the missionaries. They did not go further than the primary school phase. In the 18 30s groups of Dutch pertinacious to become participants in certain quarters known as the gravid trek. The establishment of the provinces Orange Free State, Transvaal and Natal after the union of South Africa came into creation in 1910. Once the Union of South Africa came into place, the four bucolic education departments were sent to control and adsubgenus Pastor primary and secondary education. higher(prenominal) education was the responsibility of the Union Department. Education expenditure strongly favoured whites with free and compulsory schooling.Indians, Coloureds and Africans were inadequately catered for. Their schools were regarded as correct entities run by the missionaries and outline only measly subsidies from the government. The Bantu Education Act was established in 1953. This Act was intended to make African education a central government function so that its direction and purpose could be more(prenominal) effectively manipulated by the apartheid politicians. T he white teachers were withdrawn from African schools and were replaced by African teachers that were unqualified. The standard of education in South Africa suffered for African children. In 1975, the minister of Bantu Education declared that certain subjects in high school had to be studied in Afrikaans and some others were taught in the medium of English. Africans objected to this on the grounds that they would have to learn troika languages. To give to their anger towards the Bantu EducationAct, there was around 20 000 students that marched through Soweto on the sixteenth of June 1976. Peoples Education was adopted as a strategy by the muss based National Education Crisis Committee at two historical conferences in 1985 and 1986.The core of the policy of People Education under the detail conditions of Apartheid capitalism in the mid 1980s, the creation of hot education structures and the unveiling of new practices could contribute to a process of social transformation. The affairs deteriorated to a great extent and the black community was steadfast in its shin to bring about the downfall of apartheid. Education was a strategic rotating shaft bringing about an end to apartheid. When the ANC came into bureau in 1994 the groundwork for the new policies in education for all the people in its nation had been laid. consort to the CAPS document one of the core principles is social transformation ensuring that the educational imbalances of the past are redressed, and that equal educational opportunities are provided for all sections of the population. This new educational policy has effectively started the process of major change in this country in keeping with the principle of democracy that all people should be disposed(p) equal opportunities. In the United State of America, government had support free and public education and it had thus been developed after the American Revolution. This occurred between 1750 and 1870 where parochial schools appeared as ad hoc.These schools were open mainly for Catholic children but also the Orthodox, Lutherans, Calvinists and Orthodox Jews. These schools focus mainly on the three Rs of reading, writing and arithmetic but also history and geography. In the 19th snow American education is often referred to as the common school period. It went from being ultimately private to being available to the common masses. The common schools movement was not until the 1840s did an coordinate system exist. This common school system was created by Henry Barnard and Horace Mann. This was focused on seeking for inner opportunities for all children and creating a common adherence among increasingly diverse population. They argued that education could preserve social stability and keep back crime and poverty.Free elementary education was funded by public funds. In 1986 the Supreme Court established that there will be separate schools for black and white students. This decision deprived an African American disciple of many educational benefits and it had put them at a disadvantage. They had to makedo with whatever resources that they could acquire because they were clearly under financed and parents could not afford to comprise the fees. This had out them at an unfair weakness in call of knowledge and education. An influential group of educators known as the committee of ten was established in 1892 recommended that children should receive 12 age of schooling that consists of 8 years of elementary education and was then a further 4 years of secondary education. As the 19th century was the progressive era, the 20th century was inclusivism and the idea of free education for all. The State had controlled free public education and it was the rule. Public schools did not force parents to use public schools. Parochial schools and other private schools were viable options.The struggle for fair and equal education for the African Americans was broad and hard but a lot of progress had been made through the efforts of the NAACP who pushed for fairness in the education system. In America, schools were desegregated in 1954 and even though the system up to now struggles to find its common ground with issues relating to fair education for African American education. The nation has come a long way since the founding of the first coloured schoolhouse in 1890. The USA was seen as a beacon of democracy where the constitution allowed for equal rights to all the people but yet up until 1950 education and other social aspects of life had remained to be segregated. This was a clear divide between African and White American schools. The American constitution stated that schools will be equal but separate as it was clearly evident in the South African American children received an inferior education as to the white counterparts.The scenario had duplicated itself in South Africa where the gap became bigger with each termination years. In line with the Bantu Act, there was less mon ey given to each African learner per school. The African children received an inferior education where they were merely educated enough to take up a capriole in the semi-skilled and the more skilled. They could become the scientists and doctors that they wanted to become as they were not allowed to have big and beautiful dreams. They were not given any opportunities in society and especially at school. These two countries had both been influenced in terms of racial segregation where Africans were not allowed to be attending the same school as whites. They were labelled as the inferior group and were given a very poor education just enough so that they could take up their role in the labour force. Asradical changes were commence in the USA and education had become integrated, South Africa was moving in the opposite direction. It seemed of the day in the 1950s was more resolute in implementing Bantu Education.It is important for me as a potential teacher to study the history of educ ation as it will enhance my capacity to understand and appreciate the challenges in education in Post-Colonial Africa, it will also guide me to establish the linkage between the educational theory and practice in national and global systems with emphasis on Africa. It will also service of process to understand the importance of education in the development of society since the time immemorial. The history of education is important for the formation of identity and personality of a nation. It helps us to discover things that were unknown to us before. We as a society or nation may not know who they are and how they became today without knowing the history. There are many ways in which history can help to benefit a teachers, history shows that in the past that education was not equal for all the learners of different ethnic groups that is why the future generation needs to realise that education is seen as a privilege and not a right. Education wasnt accessible to everyone and that i s where our issues lie in todays world.Children nowadays are just aiming to make that 30%. There is no drive or determination because they are taking their education for granted. They do not realise the struggle their grandparents and parents went through. The hardships that many people had to endure during the colonization and apartheid period, they can never begin to understand. Without education, there is no foundation for a better life. When you are learning the history of education it drives teachers to take more pride and initiative in the way that learning is incorporated in the classroom. It also brings a non-judgemental approach because as teachers they are the people their learners look up to for guidance and inspiration. That is why it is important for teachers to set a good example in the classroom opinion from the experiences in the past and how unfairly some learners were treated.The history of education is a foundation for all teachers and it is in this way they can use their knowledge in order to change and make education better for our future generations. Today we are fortunate to live in a country which constitution expresses equal rights because of this principle our education system is a start point in an equal and free education for all.As shown to us in both American and South African history there is only one group that stands to benefit when education is segregated. In the study of the historiography of both South Africa and America, we must be able to take out and learn that segregation is both morally and ethically unacceptable in any facet of life. In South Africa today we need to learn from this. Education cannot be separated on the basis of race or social economic group.Yet in South Africa this is happening still where the rich goes to more expensive schools and the poor goes to the school where they are walk-to(prenominal) to which in most cases are the rural schools with no proper infrastructure. Schools such as, the ex model c schools are given more power and they are seen to deliver better results. While under resourced and poorer schools are still battling to collect even a percentage of school fees. Our past has odd us with this legacy but we need to bridge this gap and not make it worse. Through the study of historiography it is clearly evident that our past practices in education policies has impacted on how we need to bring about important and vital changes so that education can be positively reflected of our parliamentary principles of free and equal education to all South African people.References1. African Virtual University, Retrieved 20 April 2014, EDU 110 History of Education www.avu.org/Teacher-Education-Professional-Courses/edu-1101-history-of-education.html 2. Historiography, Retrieved April 15 2014 qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/historiography 3. Historiography, Retrieved April 15 2014, From Wikipedia-the free encyclopaedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historiography 4. The history of Education in Amer ica, Retrieved 15 April 2014 www.chesapeake.edu/depository library/EDU_101/eduhist.asp&sa 5. University of Education, Faculty of Education, School of Education Studies (2012) Education and schooling in South Africa An introduction for undergraduate students, 8-34