Educational Psychology—Limitations and Possibilities

370 The Praeger Handbook of Education and Psychology
the violence with many fleeing the violence or moving their children into safe areas, sometimes
hundreds of kilometers away. Many families experienced the death and/or injury to their
members. Politicized youth derided their elders for previously being passive, and parents and
caregivers found it difficult to have any influence over young people. Young people left school
prematurely and the slogan “liberation now, education later” was often chanted. The cohort of
young people at this time have often been termed the “lost generation,” since their education was
severely compromised and many drifted into adulthood with limited prospects of employment.
The psychological impact of the destruction of community life, schools being gutted, young people
roaming around with nowhere to go, and the trauma of recovering from horrific experiences
and grief was extensive, yet very little psychological intervention was possible (or available).
One of the effects of the violence was that it seriously impaired relationships between learners
and teachers. Teachers were fearful of the armed and angry youth, and were often threatened.
They would thus be absent from school for extended periods of time, and learners became a
law unto themselves. The writer knows of teachers who had to face learners armed with guns
or knives in the classroom, and there were schools where security guards were employed in an
attempt to provide for occupants’ safety. Teachers thus retreated into passivity and a technicist
approach to teaching, becoming even more syllabus and textbook bound, and communicating at
a minimal level with learners.
THE LEGACIES OF APARTHEID AND THEIR IMPACT ON
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Since 1994, there has been little redress of past imbalances in Black schools, other than some
teachers being “re-deployed” in order to even out the teacher to learner ratio differences between
schools from the different departments. Whereas the racial composition of the formerly privileged
White schools has changed, often considerably, to be more inclusive, former Black schools have
mostly remained single race schools. The urban–rural divide remains very problematic, in that
many teachers who have become accustomed to urban life are resistant to being placed in rural
schools where there might not be electricity, a telephone, or in remote areas even running water!
Whilst every effort has been made by policy makers to provide a new curriculum, and to strive to
equalize the provision of education, the problems remain extensive as a result of the influences
described earlier.
The legacy of apartheid is therefore still evident in South African society, particularly in
school education. Remnants of the education system described above are still extensive, with
previously White schools well-resourced, and previously Black schools still lacking in many
basic amenities and being overcrowded. However, the legacies of apartheid go much deeper than
physical provision of amenities—they are to be seen in the attitudes and approaches of many
teachers, and thus influence many learners.
From the second phase of education onward, large numbers of young people display characteristics
of passivity, apathy, lack of interest, and motivation related to schooling. There is little
communication between home and school, and schools are regarded by many as a necessary evil
rather than being places of excitement and learning. Parents are mostly not involved in schools,
many having been intimidated as learners, and thus being afraid of educators. This is further
exacerbated by teachers often living outside of the area in which they teach, and doing little to
initiate contact with parents and other community members.
Many teachers were attracted to the work in earlier decades because their tertiary education
would be government-sponsored and they were thus sure of employment. Such teachers often
lack interest in teaching or the motivation to give of themselves. Some of them also became
militant as trade unionists, demanding their rights, but there has as yet been limited recognition of