Praeger Culture, Education, and Development in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

With the fall of apartheid in South Africa, expectations were high for the enfranchisement of the acutely underdeveloped majority in South Africa. But problems abound, and this educational study looks critically at the educational situation and puts forth a number of proposals that could produce better results in contemporary South Africa. Abdi urges that beyond the celebratory platforms of the political triumph over apartheid, there must be effective and culturally inclusive programs of education for the development of the highly disenfranchsed majority in South Africa. Deliberate programs of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa resulted in inferior education, cultural marginalization, political oppression, economic exploitation and resulting underdevelopment in the lives of the disenfranchised majority. In addition to historical and contemporary analysis, this study looks at the possibilities of formulating and implementing new programs of education and development that could effectively deal with such current problems as chronic unemployment, skyrocketing crime rates, stagnating learning systems, and the continuing formations of a huge underclass that may be losing its stake in the promised post-apartheid project. Review .,."an extremely well-written analysis that brings together an enormous amount of imformation to help the reader understand the situation of education in South Africa more fully than ever before. Dr, Abdi examines education in South Africa through a theoretical as well as practical lens, offering insights, for example, about multiculturalism in that region of the world which resonate with, and add a dimension to, our understanding of muticulturalism in other parts of the world."-Ailie Cleghorn Associate Professor of Education Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec "This is a cleverly articulated book that brings a refreshing critique and interrogation to the understanding of educational processes and the role of education in development in South Africa...The book demonstrates how dicursive power and political practice have to continually shape social and educational change in South Africa. The book raises some important challenges not only for South Africa, but for all countries who are veering into the raod of educational equity and social justice for the minoritized and disadvantaged."-George J. Sefa Dei Professor & Associate Chair, Sociology and Equity Studies OISE, University of Toronto About the Author ALI A. ABDI is Assistant Professor of International Development Education, Department of Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta, Canada.