ERIC Number: EJ794273
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008-Jun
Pages: 8
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0141-8211
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Available Date: N/A
Education for Learning to Live Together: What Can We Learn from the South African Experience?
Volmink, John D.
European Journal of Education, v43 n2 p189-196 Jun 2008
In 1994, South Africa moved away from its cruel and divided past to a future where its citizens would learn together, work together and grow together. In short we had to learn what it meant to live together by unlearning the ideas introduced by apartheid that permeated every aspect of our society. This required a new Constitution, brave and exemplary leadership by Nelson Mandela and others and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission led by Desmond Tutu. None of these efforts, as important as they may have been, could ever be sufficient to sustain change. Ordinary people who have no positional authority are those who will sustain change. Roughly one quarter of the South African population is at school and these are people who will take the message of reconciliation into the future. In this article we describe attempts to redefine what is good. In particular what kind of teacher, learner and curriculum we will need to form the basis of a transformed and admirable society, one in which we will know how to live together.
Descriptors: Racial Segregation, Foreign Countries, Educational Philosophy, Role of Education, Political Issues, Politics of Education, Social Change, Social Justice, Change Strategies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
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