The overwhelming majority of South Africans — a total of 90% — say they respect teachers for their dedicated service to children.
This is according to the South African Social Attitudes Survey (Sasas), which has just been published by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).
The survey, titled What Do South Africans Think About Education?, was conducted by researchers Mbithi wa Kivilu and Sean Morrow.
The researchers say it is surprising that so many South Africans say they respect teachers, given the state of flux and traumatic changes that the profession has gone through in recent years, as well as the criticism meted out to teachers, particularly in predominately black schools.
The positive attitude came from across the provinces with the Asian/Indian group showing the most respect for teachers.
However, there was an across the country perception that teachers should not engage in strike activity as it damages their reputations. But not all provinces felt this to the same degree. The more rural provinces — Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo — were most empathetic to strike action by teachers.
The survey showed that Africans are the most progressive group in the country in their attitude towards racial mixing at schools. While the majority of South Africans by region, race, age and gender felt that schools should be racially mixed, 91% of Africans agree, with Asians/Indians (83%) and coloureds (77%) in support, and whites (53%) coming in at the bottom of the pile.
Wa Kivilu and Morrow note that given the contested area that education is in in the country, it is surprising that there is a dearth of material on attitudes to education.
The statistical analysis they provide, offers good insight into how South Africans view integration, commitment to compulsory education, perceptions of teachers, religion, co-education, language, punishment, spending priorities and education for girls.
In general Wa Kivilu and Morrow say that their research showed no great markers of differentiation in age and gender, with the greatest common ground being that South Africans see the massive importance of education, and that all groups — rural and urban, black and white, rich and poor — are optimistic and committed to the ideal. ‘Policymakers would do well to take note of such findings,” the survey says.
The views of respondents on key topics included:
On the the perceived aim of education: the majority of South Africans see the aim of education as a means of getting a good job; they also believe education should help children think critically, independently and develop into good citizens.
On punishment: corporal punishment was only supported by one third of all respondents and showed a glaring difference among races. Corporal punishment is the most favoured among whites in the Free State. Indians/Asians were vehemently opposed to corporal punishment with 98% favouring reasoning and discussion with the learner and additional learning tasks as a recommended form of punishment. Black Africans were not entirely opposed to corporal punishment by the teacher (50%) and the principal (64%). Whites favoured corporal punishment either by teachers or the principal (53% and 45% respectively), while coloureds were keen on detention after school.
On language: A surprising finding is that while the minority of South Africans speaks English as a first language, the majority of respondents favoured this as a medium of instruction in schools. In all provinces, except the Western and Northern Cape where Afrikaans is predominant, people preferred English for grades one to three learners. The younger the respondent, the more English was preferred. Also interesting is that Indians/Asians followed by Africans were more likely to favour English than whites in the formative phase of schooling.
On spending priorities in schools: the highest proportion of all respondents support spending on science and technology equipment, this was followed by investment in libraries and library books and then on extra teachers. The greatest enthusiasm for science and technology equipment came from the Eastern Cape, the country’s poorest province, followed by the Northern Cape.
One single sex or co-educational schools: the majority of South Africans prefer co-education to single sex schools. However, the more rural provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal have a larger proportion of people who say boys and girls should receive separate education. It was also found that the higher the income level of the respondent and the higher the level of education, the higher the support for co-education.
On gender: 90% of respondents believed that girls should be educated on equal terms with boys. Across the spectrum they felt it was important for girls to receive an education with women and respondents aged between 35 and 49 agreeing most strongly. However, researchers say, it was surprising to find that one in 10 people aged between 16 and 24 agreed with the statement that educating girls to a high level is of no use. Whites and Asians have the highest proportion of the sample of respondents favouring gender equality in schools. The more educated the respondent, the survey found, the more likely the response was that girls should be as educated as boys.
On compulsory education: The two most urban provinces, the Western Cape (nearly 90%) and Gauteng (just less than 90%) showed the highest commitment to compulsory education up to matric level. At the opposite end of the scale in KwaZulu-Natal where a large percentage (30%) said that school attendance should not be compulsory. The survey also found that the higher the income of respondents, and the higher the level of education, the more commited to education.
On religion: the majority of South Africans do not believe children should be separated into different schools in terms of religion. Although the group survey was split down the middle about whether there should be some compulsory religious observance at schools, 15% were indifferent, and 35% opposed. The Western Cape had the highest proportion of people in favour of religion in schools, while the Free State had the lowest proportion of people supporting this.