EDSA700

Unit 1
The transformation process (White Paper on
Education and Training, 1995) Live lecture (Canned)
Part 2
White Paper on Education and Training, 1995 – an integrated approach

An integrated approach:

The ‘training’ of which the Ministry of Education was cognisant in this document is that which
formed part of almost all learning programmes. (to distinguish between education and training)

The new terminology would have an impact on programmes like teacher education which had
previously been called ‘teacher training’.

The integrated approach sought to ensure that education consisted of ‘training’ for skills and
techniques and ‘education’ which referred to the ‘knowledge’ and ‘theory’. It would impact the
different pathways of education. (vocational and academic)

The idea of integration was to move away from the thinking that people were trained for lesser
employment and educated for other employment. (Which was associated with occupational,
social and economic class distinction)
White Paper on Education and Training, 1995 – coverage (1)

Coverage: (with annual review stated)

• the transition development and strategic plans -

• development of human resources
• bridge the gap between the ‘academic and applied’ and between ‘theory and practice’ (i.e.
reject rigid division)
• plan budgets and devolve budget planning to provincial departments
• improve quality, equity, productivity and efficiency
• establish the National Qualifications Framework
• access to education for adults and children as basic rights* (See diagram of authorities for
education sectors) and lifelong learning
• interaction across sectors of government under different ministries

Question:
How would you explain the purpose of interaction across ministries?
White Paper on Education and Training, 1995 – coverage (2)

Coverage:

• address inequality by looking at where this could be altered to include everyone

• participation of parents and carers in the lives of learners
• rehabilitation of schools and colleges to buld capacity and have representative
• recognise the role of equity. (democracy, freedom, justice and peace are necessary for all
this to take place)
• mutual respect for the diverse nature of the country’s religious, cultural, language traditions
• revision of the curriculum content to reflect equitably, the achievements and contributions of
all South Africans to the nation
• arts education should be increasingly available (because they were largely ignored in prior
curricula)

Question:

What role would arts education play in the curriculum?

White Paper on Education and Training, 1995 – coverage (3)

Coverage:

• The new curriculum would promote critical thinking.

• The curriculum choices should enable learners to acquire knowledge and skills that reflect
the needs of the economy and for further career development.
White Paper on Education and Training, 1995 – ushered in curriculum changes

The curriculum needed to be revised to:

• cater for the needs of the new nation and its goals

This was to become the first step in establishing the:

National Curriculum Statement (NCS)

The fist edition was in 1997 with implementation in 1998.

White Paper on Education and Training, 1995 – followed by SA Schools Act 1996

South African Schools Act, 1996

Established to provide a system of governance, organisation and funding of schools.

Various amendments to this Act have been made and they continue to provide the law by which
schools should be:

• governed
• organised
• funded
Outcomes-based Education (Curriculum 2005) - introduced

1997

A new education system called Curriculum 2005 was launched.

It was based on “outcomes-based education” (OBE) which had been used in other countries
without the greatest success. *

Question:

What do you know about ‘outcome-based education’?

Outcomes-based Education (Curriculum 2005) - rationale

“Along with the introduction of a democratic political dispensation in 1994, South Africa has
overhauled the existing education system by gradually phasing in an Outcomes-Based
Education (OBE) approach. This bold step was taken to be in line with international trends –
moving away from the content-driven curriculum emphasising examination results towards an
emphasis on facilitating lifelong learning (Department of Education, 1997). Other countries in
which OBE is being implemented include Australia (Andrich, 2002; Brindley, 2001) and New
Zealand (Bell, Jones & Carr, 1995; Ministry of Education, 1993).”
(Laugksch, Aldridge & Fraser, 2007:2)
Outcomes-based Education (Curriculum 2005) – historical outline

• Curriculum 2005 was phased in for the first time in 1998.

• In 2000 it was revised and replaced by the Revised National Curriculum Statement for Grade
R-9. It was introduced year by year (the word ‘Revised’ was eventually removed)

• In 2006, the NCS reached the FET phase and by 2008 the first Grade 12s were following the
new curriculum.
Outcomes-based Education (Curriculum 2005) – what it is (1)

“Various authors have traced the origins and nature of OBE. Fiske and Ladd (2004) describe
the method as an instructional one in which curriculum planners teach the general knowledge,
skills, and values that learners should acquire. OBE is grounded in two pillars of knowledge: (1)
competency-based education; and (2) mastery learning. Formative and summative
assessments are rooted in OBE to ensure students meet the outcomes. In fact, the OBE model
alleges that student success is solely the teacher’s responsibility. If students have difficulty,
remediation is available, and similarly, enhancement outcomes are available for those students
who excel. Other forms of pedagogy used in OBE include authentic assessment,
interdisciplinary teaching, and group learning (Darling-Hammond, Ancess & Falk, 1995).”
(Schmidt, 2017:369)
Outcomes-based Education (Curriculum 2005) – what it is (2)

• the method is instructional where curriculum planners (teachers) teach the general
knowledge, skills, and values that learners should acquire.
• a “new curriculum” that mirrored Western curricula with the introduction of outcomes-based
learning
• By 1997, 66 outcomes in eight disciplines as well as accompanying assessment standards
had been developed.
• assessment was the foundation of the success of these curricula changes. Teachers needed
to place more emphasis on formative assessment as a continuous feedback loop rather than
on summative assessment that provides final test evaluations.
• There was an emphasis on methodology with less definition for the content to be included.
Outcomes-based Education (Curriculum 2005) – challenges in SA

Class sizes were not conducive to OBE implementation.

Parents were not available to discuss learner progress and support with teachers (parents
being central OBE) due to absence from home, or cost of travel, distance from schools.
Learners needed to have high levels of self-motivation. (This comes from experiencing
success and from seeing behaviour modelled)
Learners need to be focussed and non-disruptive.
Learners need textbooks.
Teachers needed:
• to be trained in OBE teaching and learning strategies to build confidence.
• to show an interest and seek further development.
• assistance, advice and encouragement from managers and colleagues; not always possible
to obtain.
• to have frequent discussions about teaching methods and strategies with colleagues.
• guidelines and procedures and to set some themselves. (compliance)
• guidance and maintenance of the systems.
• a climate that welcomed innovation, experimentation and individuality.
• support personnel, facilities, finance, equipment and resources.
• time for preparation and assessment
Schools were under-funded and under-resourced.
Outcomes-based Education (Curriculum 2005) – phased out

2006

By 2006 OBE was phased out as the recognition dawned that it was a failed social experiment
because the policy guidelines of the White Paper on Education were not being realised.

It did not reflect the society into which it was introduced (Schmidt, 2017)

It was criticised at the time for being drenched in colonial ideas.

It had been hastily introduced and the terminology was unfamiliar.

There was insufficient input from the teachers who would teach it.

Teachers were blamed for the failure of OBE and C2005.

Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS)

2009
In 2009, another process was started which resulted in:

• Final Draft of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS)

(this time it was released in 2010 for comment and training purposes)

• It was introduced into:

Grades R to 4 and Grade 10 in 2012

Grades 4 to 7 and Grade 11 in 2013
Grade 12 in 2014

Up until the early 1990s, South Africa’s curriculum development was administered at a central
level and then disseminated in a ‘top-down’ manner.

With the rise of democracy after 1992, there was a greater emphasis on the democratisation of
education.
The transformation process – intention

A prominent topic in education has been the urgent need for an overhaul of the South African
education sector, after the demise of apartheid in 1994 (Chisholm, 2004; Kraak & Young, 2001).

New goals for education were negotiated and forged (Vithal et al., 2005).

The intention at this historical watershed (Christie, 2020) was to widen access, redress past
inequalities, build foundations and foster political, social and economic development (Sayed, as
cited in Chisholm, 2004; Singh, 2011).

The overarching purpose of a politico-philosophical coup d’etat was to democratise all spheres
of human existence within the country’s political borders and demolish the hegemony of
apartheid (Teferra, 2017).

Among the first areas addressed was education.

Views on transformation today – current views

Of curriculum ……

Msibi (2016:) views SA curriculum studies, which are so needed in Higher Education, as being
characterised by poor theory which is uncritically borrowed from unfamiliar contexts and poorly
worked with.

Of governance ……, of funding ……., of support for teachers ……., of teacher education….., of
quality ……., of teacher education, ….., of equity, …… of standards, …… of inclusivity, ………..

What are your views on the extent to which the White Paper on Education and Training
has extended its influence?

What are the current debates on the above?

References
Chisholm, L. (ed). 2004. Changing class: education and social change in post-apartheid South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC
Press
Chisholm, L. 2005. The making of South Africa's National Curriculum Statement, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37(2):
(15p):193-208. DOI: 10.1080/0022027042000236163 [Accessed: 09.09.2022]

Christie, P. 2020. Decolonising schools in South Africa: the impossible dream? http://ebookcentral.proquest. com./lib/ukzn-
ebooks/detail.action?docID=6222152 [Accessed: 15.01.2022]

Jansen, J. 1998. Curriculum reform in South Africa: a critical analysis of outcomes-based education. Cambridge Journal of
Education. 28(3):(10p): 321-331 https://doi.og/10.1080/0305764980280305 [Accessed 09.08.2022].

Laugksch, R., and Aldridge, J., & Fraser, B. 2007. Outcomes-Based Education in South Africa: Using an Instrument to
Assess School-Level Environments during the Implementation.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228510879_Outcomes-
Based_Education_in_South_Africa_Using_an_Instrument_to_Assess_School-
Level_Environments_during_the_Implementation [Accessed: 09.08.2022]

Msibi, T. 2016. Queering the curriculum studies in South Africa: a call for reconceptualization. In: M. Samuel., R.
Dhunpath., and N. amin. (eds), Disrupting higher education Undoing cognitive damage. Sense Publishers. pp. 213-228.

O’Malley Archive. n.d. The Heart of Hope The reconstruction and development programme.
https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv02039/04lv02103/05lv02120/06lv02126.htm [Accessed:
08.08.2022].
References (contd)

Pinnock Consulting. (Owner). 2018. SA School System. [Online video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEtzQrkPXBg

[Accessed: 30.07.2022] [11:42]
Schmidt, M. 2017. The perils of Outcomes-Based Education in fostering South African educational transformation. Open
Journal of Political Science 7: (11p):368-379. doi: 10.4236/ojps.2017.73030 [Accessed:09.08.2022]
South African History Online. 2021. South African Government of National Unity (GNU) – 1994 – 1999.
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/south-african-government-national-unity-gnu-1994-1999 [Accessed: 08.08.2022]
South African History Online. 2021. South African Government of National Unity (GNU) – 1994 – 1999.
https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/south-african-government-national-unity-gnu-1994-1999 [Accessed: 08.08.2022]
South African Qualifications Authority. 2012. National Qualifications Framework Level Descriptors for the South African
National Qualifications Framework. Directorate: Registration and Recognition.
https://www.saqa.org.za/sites/default/files/2019-11/level_descriptors.pdf [Accessed:09.09.2022].
South African Qualifications Authority. n.d. The role of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and the National
Learner’s Records Database (NLRD) in showing trends in the education and training sector. [Online image].
https://www.saqa.org.za/sites/default/files/2019-11/Fact%20Sheet%20SAQA-FPI.pdf [Accessed: 09.08.2022]
South Africa. 1995. Department of Education. White Paper on Education and Training No.196. Pretoria: Government
Printer. https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files /gcis_document/201409/16312gen1960.pdf
Teferra, D. 2017. (ed). 2003. African higher education: an international reference handbook. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Wieder, A. 2002. Black Teachers and the Struggle Against Apartheid Oral Histories from South Africa. MultiCultural Review,
11(3):42-51.