12/21/2023 0 Comments Microcosm definitionDuring the apartheid years resistance, defiance, collaboration, compliance and opposition characterised the range of responses to state policy. In the last decade a shift has been taking place in this regard and the pendulum is swinging back to a rather more balanced view of sound education policies and principles.Īt every stage the wider dynamics of political events have had an impact on schools. Initially the key approach was to discard the old and usher in new policies, legislation, curricula and methods as rapidly as possible without pausing to consider the retention of some of the systems in place on the few islands of excellence. With the advent of democracy a new era of experimentation dawned. From 1990 to 1994 was a watershed in both the national political discourse and the direction education would take. During the 1950s through to the late 1980s a major polarisation took place in line with the implementation of apartheid policies. Half way through the twentieth century the Afrikaner Nationalist government thrust Christian National Education to the fore. At the turn of the previous century Milnerism ushered in an era of exclusive English education. The seminal events which were the defining moments in our society not only had a direct influence on the content of what is taught in schools, but also on teaching methodology and the broad framework of education policy and legislation. South African schools have been inextricably linked to the national political discourse for many years. Keywords: Christian National Education Democracy Polarisation Transition Power relationships Microcosm. It is critical that this aspect of heritage is preserved by historians who take the effort to research and write about this tiny snippet of our national heritage. ![]() Often relegated to a purely celebratory document marking a centenary, half or quarter century, the account could be purely anecdotal or touch only on those aspects of the school which have contributed to school traditions, neglecting the broader framework within which it functions and with which it engages. As a microcosm of the community which it serves, a school reflects and engages with the greater political, social and economic issues and dynamics at any particular stage in its development. It is, however, imperative that this aspect of the broad tapestry of our local and national heritage is analysed and preserved. writing of school histories is a neglected sub-discipline in the study of heritage. The school as a microcosm of communities and their heritage and the need to encapsulate this in the writing of school histories
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