Decolonising Schools in South Africa: The Impossible Dream?

This book explores the challenge of dismantling colonial schooling in post-apartheid South Africa and how power relations have lingered in the municipality and schools. It demonstrates how government interventions have allowed colonial relations and racialized differences to persist in new forms, including unequal access to schooling. The book offers an accessible style and considers how the dream of decolonial schooling can be realized from the vantage point of research on the margins. It also highlights the contrasting logics of international 'big science' and local development needs in the Karoo region, where the largest radio telescope was recently located.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 228 pages
Publication date: 29 April 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the complex challenge of dismantling colonial schooling systems and explores the enduring power dynamics that have persisted in post-apartheid South Africa. It offers a detailed examination of the historical roots of colonialism, focusing on a small town in the Karoo region, shedding light on the patterns of possession and dispossession that have shaped the municipality and educational institutions. Through a robust political and ontological critique of decoloniality theories, the book demonstrates how government interventions over several decades have perpetuated colonial relations and the construction of racialized differences in new forms, including unequal access to schooling. Written in a accessible and engaging style, the book explores the potential for realizing decolonial schooling aspirations from the perspective of research on the margins. Additionally, the Karoo region serves as an intriguing case study, highlighting the contrasting logics of international 'big science' projects and local development needs. This book appeals to a wide range of academics and scholars, including education specialists, social geographers, sociologists, human geographers, historians, and policy makers. Chapters 1 and 10 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Weight: 420g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367505509