1. Background Information
The Republic of South Africa has a historical background of harsh oppression and racial segregation. The country was formerly known as the Union of South Africa, formed in 1910 under British rule. In 1961, South Africa became a republic that was independent of British rule, ruled by a white minority government. The Union government quickly passed several laws that divided the South African demographic landscape, and later citizenship, into black or non-white and white. Under white minority rule, black South Africans were deprived of their citizenship and political rights, and non-white South Africans were deprived of their right to participate in elections and were mistreated due to segregationist policies. This resulted in a country of separate and unequal citizenship, which was reflected in all sectors of society, including education. It was only in 1994 that South Africa held its first democratic elections and that a fully democratic Republic of South Africa came into being, granting all people freedom and equality before the law. This was the beginning of a new era of unity and hope for all citizens that promised a transformed education system that would foster the anticipated ‘new South Africa’.
As the country embarked on transformation from the apartheid system to a democratic one, the envisioned democracy was one where citizens would be empowered to optimally participate in democratic structures and processes. Therefore, the Department of Education needed to include citizenship education in the curriculum. In this regard, since the advent of democracy, the Department of Education has initiated many curricula and structural changes. Pre-1994, the South African education system was racially divided into nineteen segregated education systems. To transition to the new era, there was a need for a non-racial and unified education system. The first step taken was the amalgamation of the fragmented education departments into two standard departments of education for all learners. Thus, the first non-racial national curriculum was introduced in 1997 under the National Department of Basic Education and the Department for Higher Education and Training. These two education departments then became responsible for curricula development with the Department of Basic Education overseeing primary and high school learning and the Department of Higher Education and Training handling tertiary learning. These departments are tasked with formulating curricula that ensure citizenship education.
In South Africa’s education system, there are three bands of education: General Education and Training (GET), Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education and Training (HET). The GET band includes grade 0 plus grades 1 to 9. This is the most basic learning stage, and once a learner has completed grade 9, they receive a grade 9 certificate. The FET band includes grades 10 to 12 but can take place through colleges as well. ‘FET colleges’ is an old term that was eventually changed to Technical and Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) colleges. These colleges mainly focus on vocational and occupational aspects, including career-oriented training. In TVET, learners acquire knowledge of a specific range of jobs or entrepreneurial opportunities. TVET colleges are governed by the Department of Higher Education and Training, while grades 10 to 12 in high school fall under the Department of Basic Education. Civic education takes place in the FET band for both high school and TVET college learners. In the FET band, learners are formally taught civic education in the Life Orientation subject in grade 11 in schools and in level 2 in TVET colleges.
Life Orientation is a school subject that can be defined as the study of the self about others. The Life Orientation curriculum is responsible for the development of knowledge, understanding, values, and skills of active citizenship. This subject promotes civic participation, gender equity, non-discriminatory and democratic behaviour and opposition to stereotyping, discrimination, bias, prejudice and racism. It plays a fundamental role in human rights education and is regarded as the advancement of human rights-based principles. Although citizenship education takes place in grade 11 and level 2 in the FET band, the Life Orientation subject is introduced from grade 8 in high school and from level 2 in TVET college.
Moreover, though this subject is now compulsory, pre-1994 this was not the case. The Life Orientation subject was not compulsory albeit with the transformative agenda of post-apartheid South Africa, through the National Department of Education's Policy Document (1997). Life Orientation curriculum became a compulsory subject as a way to use education as an institution that would drive the transformative agenda of the new democratic dispensation.
2. Definition of Citizenship Education
Pinnington and Schugurensky (2009) state that ‘citizenship’ has different interpretations and applications in different societies and that not everyone in the same society agrees on its definition. In South Africa, there is no explicit definition of citizenship education, so generally accepted universal definitions are used in South African schools. Thus, citizenship education can be defined as educating children, from early childhood on, to become clear-thinking and enlightened citizens who participate in decisions concerning society (UNESCO 1998). It involves a set of relationships between rights, duties, identity and participation in the civic community.
3. Ecosystem of Non-formal Citizenship Education
Apart from the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education and Training, some other stakeholders and institutions are mandated to play a critical role in citizenship education where non-formal citizenship education can also take place. Such institutions include the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
The SAHRC is an institution independent of government, with a constitutional mandate to promote and protect the respect of a culture of human rights in South Africa. It has a special “A” status to work with international human rights bodies to protect rights. In terms of Section 184 of the Constitution of South Africa, the SAHRC must:
promote respect for human rights and a culture of human rights.
promote protection, development and attainment of human rights.
monitor and assess the observance of human rights in the Republic.
The IEC is the electoral body of South Africa, and among its duties it is also constitutionally mandated to:
Against this backdrop, the IEC also conducts civic and voter education by means of activities and events nationally, including in high schools and TVET colleges where they focus on the youth.
Traditional leaders also play an important role in citizenship education in South Africa. As a policy, the White Paper on Traditional Leadership and Governance calls on the institution of traditional leadership to embrace democracy and the principles of equality, efficient governance, transparency and accountability. The objective of the White Paper is to create an institution of traditional leadership that responds and adapts to change, promotes freedom, human dignity and the achievement of equality and non-sexism, and an institution that promotes democratic governance. In rural communities, the voice of traditional leadership plays a role in citizenship education, mainly through established traditional councils and chiefs. Traditional leaders, in line with African indigenous law and customs subject to the Constitution, are responsible for keeping the community aware of issues of national interest, championing community interests and promoting good governance. Thus, the IEC engages with traditional leaders in an appeal for them to create an environment for the IEC to conduct voter education and have voting stations in their communities.
Non-formal educational activities also take place through a variety of civil society organizations working on the empowerment of persons and communities in general. Some organizations, such as Activate! Change drivers, Rivonia Circle, Thuli Madonsela Foundation, Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and People’s Assembly, specifically contribute towards capacity building of the youth to become active citizens. Over the past years, increasing collaboration among the groups as well as between the non-state actors and governmental institutions has become more visible.
4. Legal Environment
The historical context informs many aspects of citizenship law and civic education in South Africa. Strong emphasis is placed on an education system that drives social transformation through Life Orientation. Thus, in the current Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), the introduction of learning outcomes such as personal well-being, citizenship education, recreation, physical well-being and career choices are infused in the curriculum.
The first post-democratic curriculum implemented was Curriculum 2005 (C2005), introduced in 1997 as a new outcomes-based curriculum also known as outcomes-based education (OBE). However, C2005 experienced challenges regarding implementation that led to the appointment of a review committee of it. This resulted in the revision of the curriculum for the GET band in 2001; the revised curriculum was called the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). In 2003, the FET band curriculum was revised and named the National Curriculum Statement (NCS). It was then recommended that the curriculum should integrate human rights education within all learning areas by incorporating concepts such as anti-racism, anti-sexism and special needs. Thus, the principles of the RNCS included social justice, a healthy environment, human rights and inclusivity.
The current curriculum came into being after changes were made to the curriculum in 2009, when the previously revised curricula statements (RNCS 2005) were replaced with the CAPS for all approved subjects listed (including the subject of Life Orientation). This took effect in January 2012. The CAPS for grades R to 12 were developed to serve the purpose of equipping learners, irrespective of their socio-economic background, race, gender, physical ability or intellectual ability, with the knowledge, skills and values necessary for self-fulfilment and meaningful participation in society as citizens of a free country.
5. Stakeholders
As formal citizenship education takes place in the schooling system, it makes the Department of Education one of the major stakeholders of civic education. As mentioned, Life Orientation is a compulsory subject, and it is in this subject that civic education formally takes place.
As previously discussed, institutions such as the SAHRC, the IEC and traditional leaders are all stakeholders of high importance as they are constitutional institutions that are in place to protect the democracy of the country. Please refer back to the Ecosystem of Non-formal Citizenship Education for more reading on these institutions.
6. Challenges
Civic education in South Africa involves multiple stakeholders from different sectors of society. However, better coordination and collaboration are needed among these key stakeholders. The establishment of a body bringing together all civil society organizations involved in civic education will help steer better coordination and improve the quality of civic education in the country.
The public education system in South Africa, which caters to over 85% of learners, is overburdened, with high teacher-to-learner ratios. In the public schooling system, teachers are overwhelmed and stretched in terms of resources. Rooth (2005) states that there is a lack of teaching and learning material for Life Orientation educators and acknowledges that adequate and relevant learning support material and equipment for Life Orientation will greatly enhance teaching and learning. However, in private and former whites-only public schools, which are called model C schools, this is not necessarily the case. These schools are better resourced as they are fee-paying schools, and therefore teachers can deliver Life Orientation curricula adequately in terms of human resources and facilities. This exacerbates the inequality that already exists in the education sector, creating a further problem of equity in the teaching of citizenship education.
Moreover, literature suggests that many challenges have been encountered with the implementation of citizenship education in the Life Orientation curriculum. Taylor (2001) notes that effective integration of content and teaching methodology requires well-planned assessment approaches. However, the Life Orientation subject is not externally assessed or examined. Because it is not examinable as an external national education grade 12 subject, there is a lack of commitment by teachers to teach this subject effectively.
In closing, when we look at the UNESCO definition of citizenship education, South Africa falls short in that citizenship education in the country only formally takes place closer to adulthood rather than in childhood. Despite all the efforts of the respective education departments, there is a need for more development of citizenship education and support of its teaching in South Africa.