Educational Assess and OpportunitySouth Africa and Brazil

South Africa and Brazil have been subjected by similar factors which include:

Colonization of European powers

Both have a large stake in extractive industries such as mining

Both have placed excessive political pressure on remote regions

Have indigenous populations whose lives have been changed by the economic, political, and

cultural forces that the countries colonizers have introduced.

“The distribution of income and social opportunity” in both South Africa and Brazil is

“among the most unequal in the world.” (Kubow, Fossum 2007)

South AfricaAttribute: Around ¾ of the South African population is of African descent, and 10.9% are of European descent (chiefly British or Dutch), 8.9% of mixed descent, and 2.6% are Asian, primarily Indian (Europa World Year Book, 1999).

BrazilAttribute: Three main ethnic groups have influenced Brazilian culture: the indigenous peoples or ‘Indians,’ the Portuguese Europeans, and the Africans, owing to Brazil’s former use of slaves especially in coastal plantations.

South Africa

Response: The doctrine of racial separation became particularly pronounced beginning with the apartheid-minded Nationalist Party’s rise to power in 1948, the 1953 creation of a system of “Bantu education,” and later, a school system for mixed race or ‘colored people’ in 1963 and for Indian people in 1965.

BrazilResponse: Centuries of intermarriage and racial and cultural mixing have shaped the Brazilian population. A more unified and distinctly Brazilian ‘race’ has emerged as a result (Gomes 1995). In spite of the fact that few Brazilians have ancestry strictly of one particular group, over half of the Brazilian population describes itself as white.

South AfricaEducational Implications: Apartheid’s formal system of separation within these four distinct school systems adopted differential access and opportunity into its most fundamental formal structures until dissent, mounting in the 1970’s and 1980’s, led to the dismantling of the system and Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994 as the first South African president from the racial majority.

BrazilEducational Implications: Though evidence points to limitations in the educational opportunities of less privileged races, since most Brazilians claim the identity of the dominant or high-status race, there has been a general lack of acceptance that racism is a pronounced problem and a lack of recognition for its negative effects in terms of differentiated educational access (Neuhouser, 1999).

Until 1994 apartheid dictated social conditions for the country's racial groups.

This resulted in massive redistribution of non white racial groups to “homelands”.

Homelands were generally areas that were least promising for economic development.

This population redistribution caused unequal distribution of wealth.

Because of this past policy rural schools are still far behind the schools in South Africa's cities.

Beginning in the 16th century the coastal area of Brazil was recognized by Portuguese settlers by the commercial potential.

Large land parcels went to a few settling families which now has lead to concentrated wealth in the hands of a few elites.

This has lead to a pattern of privilege & power that has created a social stratification that creates inequalities in educational access & opportunity.

Poverty is wide spread to cites where many have relocated as well as in rural area which compromise the educational opportunity and access to many.

Distributions of education is severe in both Brazil and South Africa.

Poverty disrupts educational access in many ways

Formal education in Brazil and South Africa competes for time with other priorities and needs of the poor such as... ◦ Obtaining food and water◦ School-aged children working to help support the family◦ Older children being expected to care for younger siblings and complete

domestic chores while parents work

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Students are unlikely to reach for goals of self-actualization (e.g. education) when basic needs are not first met

Cycle of Ineducability –Conditions and environment of the poor disrupt educational access from generation to generationPoverty goes hand in hand with poor health and nutrition

◦ Results in increased likelihood of children having learning disabilities or congenital problems◦ Communicable diseases run rampant in urban slums due to lack of sanitation issues (e.g. sewage

disposal, water pollution, etc.)◦ HIV/AIDS threats high in Brazil’s cities and widespread across all of South Africa (rural and urban

areas) South Africa has the highest number of HIV-positive people in the world 24% of pregnant urban South African women are infected Effects South Africa’s ability to produce and maintain a teaching workforce

Urban slums have higher crime and violence rates◦ Brazil and South Africa both undergoing intensive urbanization◦ Brazilian Favelas have become centers of organized crime

Results in lack of qualified people willing to work in dangerous school settings and limited public school services provided

Resident Associations formed to provide basic schooling to children in the favelas

Poor uninformed about the benefits of education Brazil◦ Paulo Friere (1921-1997) ◦ Began work in Northeast Brazil to promote literacy (3/4 of population

was illiterate)◦ Central goal of his life’s work◦ Pedagogy of the Oppressed – most famous and influential writing◦ Saw literacy as a tool for the poor the develop concientizacao ( a level

of consciousness) of their own oppressors in order to gain empowerment and determination to change their lives

South Africa◦ Poverty follows racial lines as a result of historically institutionalized

separatist/racist policies of apartheid◦ Inequalities in education opportunities is a focus of the struggle of the

black majority

Brazilian construct of “race” is complex:◦ -People having same skin color can be categorized differently based on other physical

characteristics.◦ -Social standings affects racial designation as well, with people of higher social status being

perceived as “whiter”◦ -Social familiarity- the degree to which a person is already known and familiar- further

increases one’s likelihood of being perceived as “white”

Black Brazilian’s access to education is more constrained than that afforded to whites. Illiteracy rates twice that in blacks compared to whites in Brazil (thus poverty is more of an issue among black Brazilians that for whites).

Should be noted that this belief is similar to the United State’s perception that “whiter is higher status than black”.

“South Africa’s discriminatory education practices, in contrast, existed well before the onset of apartheid with the earliest colonization of the territory now known as South Africa”.

The Indigenous Knowledge movement represented an ideological stance and effort toward integrating knowledge systems of indigenous groups within education, medicine, business and industry.

More recently, education practices in democratic curriculum development has led to the construction of lessons that are culturally relevant to indigenous groups in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa.

“de Lange Committee Report on Education in South Africa”: ◦ -give “equality of educational quality” ◦ - aim: identify and document inequalities in order, presumably to correct them. ◦ -government’s response: approved the report, yet stated that freedom of choice

in education should be “within the framework of the constitution”◦ -(historically overlooked response) South African response claimed: every racial

population should have its own schools and school authorities and departments.

“There is no place for [black South Africans] in the European community above the level of certain forms of labor… For that reason it is of no avail for him to receive training which has its aims absorption in the European community while he cannot and will not be absorbed there.” (cited in Nkabinde, 1997, p. 7).

Divisions of labor along gender lines tend to disadvantage females as is well documented cross-culturally. this effects education participation of women and girls in both South Africa and Brazil.

Domestic norms and gender norms discourage women from advancing their educations. Inequality crosses income and rural/ urban boundaries. Poverty decreases the amount of time men are available to contribute to family work.

“In Brazil, men may be threatened by women’s participation in education on the grounds that the country’s women could eclipse them in productivity or social status (Rockhill, 1987).”

Classrooms in Brazil and South Africa reinforce sex roles through depictions in textbooks and teacher’s treatment of students.

Stereo types of males as income providers, reduces male participation in education because of the possibility of high rates of unemployment in this field.

Kubow & Fossum use 4 main criteria to evaluate Quality Education

Education quality as:1.Exceptionality (Excellence)2.Consistency (Equality)3.Fitness for Purpose (Refinement and Perfection)4.Transformative Potential (Social or Personal Change)

There are two sets of conflicting values of Quality Education1.Transformative Potential vs. Fitness for Purpose2.Exceptionality vs. Consistency

Kubow & Fossum, pp 147-149

Transformative Potential is “schooling that propels change and enables movement toward different futures seen as desirable” (p. 147) Promotes social mobility of all classes Does not necessarily educate students for current societal workplace needs Both Brazil and South Africa have made recent political policies to support a more Transformative education

Fitness for Purpose means “schooling that refines participants ability in targeted roles” (p. 147) Promotes vocational specialization At odds with goals of social mobility Similar ideals to Human Capital Theory Both the Brazil and South African educational systems have been traditionally geared towards Fitness for Purpose education

Exceptionality means “different from the rest” 

Consistency implies emphasis on equality A society that strives to be just and equitable should put focus on factors whose control is with in reach.

The effort to bring equality to the various racial groups and alleviate the urban/rural inequalities may not have not be in reach. The attempt to redistribute allocations to South Africa’s schools and bring equality of teachers simply brought a forced relocation effort was instead seen as authoritarian and politically unpalatable. This resulted in the most experienced teachers taking “buyouts” rather than relocating, this subsequently caused a reduction in staff in a time when an increase was needed.

In contrast Brazilian education focuses on equality such as compulsory schooling for 7-14 years olds and inclusion of students with learning disabilities. Yet population displacement and income disparities persist and inequitable educational experiences contribute to the disparity.

Distributing education in an equitable manner has proven difficult in ways that respond to all democratic values. Policy goals that might be unassailable at moral levels are difficult to operationalize to the satisfaction of all sectors of society.

Affirmative action in the United States for example is incremental and pragmatic in nature whose critics embody a prima facie breach of equality that cannot be justified through short-term suspensions of equality in the form of hiring quotas, incentives and so forth. South Africa in contrast is in favor of stepwise progress associated with the conservative view. Yet South Africa’s blacks idealism is parallel to the affirmative action opponents in the US on the grounds it is all or nothing.

In South Africa, apartheid policies require instruction in the students’ mother tongue; the black African population tends to see knowledge of English more desirable.

South Africa’s 1981 de Lange Commission ultimately noted that “the reduction and elimination of demonstrable inequality in the provision of education available to members of different population groups”

  The effects of the various “empirically determinable indicators” remain difficult

to pinpoint and can effect student performance yet the de Lange Report maintained failure to equalize input and material support is inexcusable.

  No matter how complicated the exact relationships between educational inputs

and outcomes might be evidence exists and contributes to educational effectiveness.

  Willingness by proponents of accountability movement seems arguably to reflect

at least some contempt for the democratic principle of equality.

Is it possible to structure an equal educational experiences for all people when the societal and economic imperatives seem to dictate differentiation?

◦Equal vs. IndividualizationFor work to be deemed high status first society must perceive the work to be specialized (Bell, 1973: Ornstein, 2003).

The Academic and vocational debate has contributed to disagreements in both developed and developing capitalist countries (Fossum, 2007).

◦How can education foster Social Progress?

◦What curriculum is best suited to compete in a global economy?

South Africa’s educational proposals focus on helping to move black unskilled laborers into the skilled labor pool

◦Favors vocationalism as a way towards moving the black population to a more widespread participation in higher education and eventually in the professional sector (Fossum,2007).

The school-to-work debate in the United StatesBegan in the 1980’s to tailor education to meet the needs of industries

◦Opponents of Vocational Education believe that it will keep individuals from perusing higher education.

Targeted economically disadvantaged or minority students.School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994), provided work based learning opportunities for all students while not targeting the disadvantaged and minority students.

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Harvey Framework◦Suggest that it’s misguided to assume that standards can in and of themselves resolve debates about the purpose and direction of schools (Fossum, 2007).

◦Different societies relflect different solutions to the multiple and contradictory purposes of formal education (Fossum, 2007).

The debate around these issues reflect these tensions (Fossum, 2007).

◦Standards are based on different ideas of qualityUniversal attainment of acceptable minimumsIdentifying and distinguishing achievement

The need for educational consistency and exceptionality are forcing the need for a resolution to the debate (Fossum, 2007).

◦Consistency move the direction towards equalization of education.

•Both Brazil and South Africa are “among the most unequal in the world in regards to income and social opportunities (Fossum, 2007).

•Distributions of education are a major issue in both South Africa and Brazil.

•Both Brazil and South Africa have meeting basic needs make formal education a challenge.

•The debate regarding academic versus vocational education contributes to disagreements in both developed and developing capitalist countries (Fossum,2007)

•Quality and Standards will look different depending on the society that has set the policies.

Kubow, P. K., & Fossum, P. R. (2007). Comparative Education: Exploring issues in international context, 2nd Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.