Changes at classroom-level

The functional identity of Bay View High School excludes the cultural identity and capital of its new student population. This exclusion is established in the

composition and functioning of the SGB. The exclusion of the cultural identity and capital of the new student population at Bay View High School is however not restricted to the governance of the school. It repeats itself in the engagement with learners through the pedagogical practices of teachers and in relation to the implementation of new curricula at the school.

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With the demise of the apartheid state on the horizon it became obvious to all stakeholders that a new school curriculum serving a new and radically different purpose would replace the then system of the CNE. The CNE, the curriculum that served to divide races and prepare different groups for dominant and subordinate positions in social, political and economic life, would be replaced with a curriculum that will strive to unite all citizens as equals in a new democratic South Africa (Harley & Wedekind, 2004:195).

The democratically elected government that was installed in 1994 inherited a complex education system consisting of 18 education departments catering for different provinces, homelands and population groups. The curriculum reforms initiated with the advent of democracy followed a number of clear steps. The first changes after the 1994 elections were to eliminate variations in the curriculum used by the different education departments. In addition, presented as an emergency intervention while new curriculum policy was being developed, the then existing apartheid based curriculum (i.e. syllabi) was cleansed of all racially offensive, sexist and outdated content. The third wave of reform shifted the focus away from content and onto assessment, with the introduction of continuous assessment (CASS) in schools in 1996.

These initial changes did not have a meaningful impact on the educational activities that was taking place at Bay View High School. Mr Smit describes these changes as being minor and insignificant and that the teachers had already become sensitive towards learners of other races as it has become the norm in society. The biggest cause of concern to Bay View High School teachers during this period was the implementation of what is described by Harley and Wedekind (2004:196) as the master plan. Curriculum 2005 (C2005), the new curriculum which was to replace the CNE, was launched in March 1997, with implementation in Grade 1 scheduled for 1998, and Grade 7 in 1999. C2005 was to be phased in progressively so that it would cover all sectors of schooling by 2005.

The new curriculum had three design features. Firstly, it was outcomes-based, and this feature was positioned so centrally that outcomes-based education (OBE) became synonymous with C2005. An integrated knowledge system was the second

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design feature with eight learning areas introduced for Grades 1 to 9. The third dimension of curriculum reform was the promotion of learner-centred pedagogy.

Before it landed at school, the new curriculum already had a bad reputation. The teachers at Bay View High School had taken note of the negative public sentiment (particularly within the white community) that surrounded OBE. The negative publicity that OBE received within the digital and printed media brought forth uncertainty within the teaching staff, school management and community as to the credibility of OBE. As a result, there was little confidence in the success of OBE from teachers, the community and learners prior to its implementation.

The negative sentiment that surrounded OBE was further accentuated during the swift introduction of OBE. Given the short period between finalisation of the curriculum and its implementation, the national Department of Education and its various provincial counterparts had no choice but to provide crash-course training for teachers. Ms Miller (interview 2014), an experienced teacher at the time, recalls that all teachers at Bay View High had to attend a training course before the

implementation of OBE. The training sessions were held after school and during the school holidays at a neighbouring high school. The timing of the training she says, merely served to enhance already negative sentiment amongst the teachers of Bay View High School.

Due to the swift introduction of OBE, the quality of training provided by the

department, its various sub-contractors and NGOs were often uneven. Complex issues of pedagogy with major implications for teachers’ personal and professional identity were reduced to simplistic dichotomies such as ‘teacher-centred’ practise, the old practise associated with the CNE, and ‘learner-centred’ practise, the new and desired practise. Ms Miller recalls that she, like a number of her colleagues, has left the training confused and filled with reservations. The initial problems experienced by teachers during this period are well documented (Dolby, 2001; Weber, 2006; Vandeyar & Jansen, 2008). Jansen and Christie (1999) confirm that there was much confusion amongst teachers particularly surrounding the implications of OBE on their teaching practices. Learner-centeredness quickly became one of the teachers’ defining features of the new curriculum. Group work as a learner-centred teaching

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practice became a major symbolic identifier of the new curriculum and for many teachers implementing group work it was the core pedagogical shift required of them by C2005.

Messrs Bester and Grewe, as well as Ms Miller (teachers at the school), all comment with similar disregard on the topic of group work. It is their opinion that group work is not a practical teaching method and could not be done with productive results at Bay View High School. They ascribe this view directly to the lack of self-discipline among the learners and believe that group work would only serve to break down the well- established school discipline. They further explain that group work is a skill that neither the learners had and the teachers were not adept at using as part of their teaching.

As a consequence of the prevailing confusion amongst teaching staff, Mr Kotze, the principal between 1988 and 1996, showed some degree of leniency towards

teachers and the implementation of OBE. Mr Kotze himself was a teacher with vast experience and his teaching style was what is often referred to as ‘talk and chalk’. This refers to his use of the chalk board and the lecturing teaching style. Mr Kotze was not unique in his teaching style, in fact, the majority of teachers’ teaching styles under the CNE could be described in this way.

Having taught for thirty one year’s using a particular method, it comes as no surprise that Mr Kotze was reluctant to change his method of teaching or that he did not show a significant confidence in the ‘learner-centred’ teaching practices associated with OBE. As the principal it was however Mr Kotze’s duty to ensure that educators implement the curriculum as prescribed by the SASA (Republic of South Africa, 1996a). In this regard Mr Kotze required teachers to comply with the administrative requirements of the new curriculum (Smit, 2015).

At classroom-level, the new democratic dispensation had brought little change in the educational engagement practices of teachers. The introduction of OBE as a

stipulation of the SASA (Republic of South Africa, 1996a) had merely increased the administrative loads of educators at Bay View High School. Mr Grewe (2015)

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fact that the learners in the class represented different races and cultures also did not sway him to change his teaching style. Mr Grewe explains that he has always achieved good results and as it was the choice of new learners to enrol at Bay View High School, it was their duty to adapt to the school and the way that it functioned. He explains that the school had achieved good results and maintained a reputation as a well-functioning school. It is this reputation that, according to Mr Grewe, motivated parents to enrol their children at Bay View High School (Grewe, 2015). This, according to Mr Grewe, served as an endorsement of the teachers and their teaching practices.

At Bay View High School it was expected from the new incoming learners to adapt to the existing functional identity of the school. In the classroom, in spite of the

introduction of a new curriculum that required a new pedagogical approach from teachers, teachers continued presenting the curriculum using pedagogical practices that served them well throughout their teaching careers. Assessment of learner progress continued by means of exams and testing regimes similar to which parents that were schooled under the CNE were exposed to.

The reluctance of teachers to embrace change has therefore created an

environment in which new learners are expected to adapt to the teaching style and practices that have served their teachers for years. This equates to what has been described as assimilation. Learners have been included into Bay View High School with a particular functional identity. The mere assimilation of the new learners into this environment implies the exclusion of the cultural identity and capital that these new learners have brought with them into this schooling environment. In failing to recognise the diverse cultural capital that now confronts teachers, the engagement practises of teachers in the classroom are now misaligned with the new diverse students whilst remaining in sync with that of learners who come from the historic constituency of Bay View High School.

3.9 Conclusion

In this chapter, I discussed the multitude of changes at Bay View High School, the community that it served, and what its educators, school management and learners were confronted with as part of a society experiencing radical democratic changes.

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This chapter aimed to portray and the experiences of stakeholders of Bay View High School during a period of transition. It provided an overview of how Bay View High positioned itself in relation to new legislation, and how it went about integrating learners of different races into an existing school culture whilst ensuring that its Afrikaner orientation remains intact. This chapter served to make apparent the disposition of the school and community in relation to the changes associated with South Africa’s transformation into a democratic society.

In its desire to maintain the school’s functional identity, the school resorted to assimilation practices which place an expectation on the new incoming learners to adapt to the existing culture and practices of Bay View High School. The school opened its doors to learners from different races and cultures, but in maintaining its functional identity failed to recognise the cultural identity and capital that these learners brought with them into the school.

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