OPENING THE DOORS OF LEARNING: CHANGING SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA by Pam Christie
(Heinemann) R240
The Right to Learn is probably the best known and used education text published in South Africa. The beauty of The Right to Learn is its accessibility – particularly the lucid manner in which Pam Christie put across complex issues.
Opening the Doors of Learning sets out with a similar purpose. Years later and after a decade of democracy, Christie comes to grips with education’s puzzle.
She sets out to explain why the government struggles to provide quality education for all, why improvements are uneven and how these can be addressed.
She explores the forces of change in education by closely examining challenges at the global, state and classroom level.
Opening the Doors draws on the tradition of research and theory that starts with the premise that human beings make their own history, but not in circumstances of their own choosing. The hope is that they can change their world.
Christie frames her discussions of schooling in an ethical framework. Her understanding of ethics is the practice of thinking about living in relation to other people and the world they share. The second chapter sets the foundation for discussions about schools and change.
Christie argues that there are multiple goals of schooling and these are sometimes in competition. She says that schooling does seem to hold “keys to the future”, but for many around the world this is not a reality.
Schooling is presented as a solution to wide-ranging social problems such as poverty, inequality, violence and social cohesion, but there is
little evidence to show that schooling achieves these goals on a large-scale and in a sustainable way.
The third chapter deals with education and globalisation. The chapter opens with two snapshots: one of a girl in a multiracial urban school, the other of a girl in a rural school. These snapshots are used throughout to ground the book in the real world.
The snapshots show vastly different experiences for learners and ask how schooling can work across social divisions to provide worthwhile learning experiences for all students.
Christie discusses the complexity of globalisation and concludes that the new economy is growing alongside the old. It is a global capitalist economy that is linked by technologies operating in single time units.
In chapter four Christie considers the debates in development theory. She notes that development for governments entails working with economic, political and social visions which are sometimes in competition with one another.
Schooling is linked to development. In the South African context equal quality for all in schooling is not likely to unfold without efforts to bridge the historical divisions. Targeted resources, political will and strong interventions are needed.
Christie explores the policy approaches taken to eradicate the legacies of apartheid. She discusses the complexity of the policy process, its intention and end result. The education system was expanded, modernised and deracialised. A key achievement of the post-apartheid government was its ability to keep the system functioning.
She argues that equity measures were limited and have not been adequate to the task of providing quality education. Chapter six considers schools and classrooms more closely and explores how the doors of learning might be opened to all.
Christie sets out to answer the question: What will make a difference to the learning experiences and outcomes of different students at school?
She considers:
What learners bring to school from their homes and families;
Which schools they attend;
How well the schools perform;
How well the schools function and how effective their teachers are; and
What happens inside the classroom, teaching, learning and assessment.
Christie concludes by presenting the challenges in an ethical framework. She argues that systematic teaching must be framed by a commitment to intellectual rigour.
She challenges us to offer schooling experiences of quality to all learners and to encourage active participation and individual development.
Solutions are difficult but she asks us to be people who create our own history, even in difficult circumstances. Opening the doors inspires us to seek justice for all.
Mark Potterton is the director of the Catholic Institute of Education