2. South Africa and Brazil have been subjected by similar factors which include:
Colonization of European powers
Both have a large stake in extractive industries such as mining
Both have placed excessive political pressure on remote regions
Have indigenous populations whose lives have been changed by the economic, political, and
cultural forces that the countries colonizers have introduced.
“The distribution of income and social opportunity” in both South Africa and Brazil is
“among the most unequal in the world.” (Kubow, Fossum 2007)
3. South Africa Brazil
Attribute: Around ¾ of the Attribute: Three main ethnic
South African population is of groups have influenced Brazilian
African descent, and 10.9% are culture: the indigenous peoples or
of European descent (chiefly ‘Indians,’ the Portuguese Europeans,
British or Dutch), 8.9% of and the Africans, owing to Brazil’s
mixed descent, and 2.6% are former use of slaves especially in
Asian, primarily Indian coastal plantations.
(Europa World Year Book,
1999).
4. South Africa Brazil
Response: The doctrine of racial Response: Centuries of
intermarriage and racial and cultural
separation became particularly
mixing have shaped the Brazilian
pronounced beginning with the population. A more unified and
apartheid-minded Nationalist distinctly Brazilian ‘race’ has
Party’s rise to power in 1948, the emerged as a result (Gomes 1995).
1953 creation of a system of “Bantu In spite of the fact that few
education,” and later, a school Brazilians have ancestry strictly of
system for mixed race or ‘colored one particular group, over half of
people’ in 1963 and for Indian the Brazilian population describes
people in 1965. itself as white.
5. South Africa Brazil
Educational Implications: Educational Implications: Though
Apartheid’s formal system of evidence points to limitations in the
separation within these four distinct educational opportunities of less
school systems adopted differential privileged races, since most
access and opportunity into its most Brazilians claim the identity of the
fundamental formal structures until dominant or high-status race, there
dissent, mounting in the 1970’s and has been a general lack of
1980’s, led to the dismantling of the acceptance that racism is a
system and Nelson Mandela’s pronounced problem and a lack of
election in 1994 as the first South recognition for its negative effects
African president from the racial in terms of differentiated
majority. educational access (Neuhouser,
1999).
6.
7. Until 1994 apartheid dictated social conditions for the country's racial
groups.
This resulted in massive redistribution of non white racial groups to
“homelands”.
Homelands were generally areas that were least promising for economic
development.
This population redistribution caused unequal distribution of wealth.
Because of this past policy rural schools are still far behind the schools in
South Africa's cities.
8. Beginning in the 16th century the coastal area of Brazil was recognized by
Portuguese settlers by the commercial potential.
Large land parcels went to a few settling families which now has lead to
concentrated wealth in the hands of a few elites.
This has lead to a pattern of privilege & power that has created a social
stratification that creates inequalities in educational access & opportunity.
Poverty is wide spread to cites where many have relocated as well as in
rural area which compromise the educational opportunity and access to
many.
Distributions of education is severe in both Brazil and South Africa.
9. Poverty disrupts educational access in many ways
Formal education in Brazil and South Africa competes for time with other
priorities and needs of the poor such as...
◦ Obtaining food and water
◦ School-aged children working to help support the family
◦ Older children being expected to care for younger siblings and complete
domestic chores while parents work
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Students are unlikely to reach for goals of
self-actualization (e.g. education) when basic needs are not first met
10. Cycle of Ineducability –Conditions and environment of the poor disrupt educational
access from generation to generation
Poverty goes hand in hand with poor health and nutrition
◦ Results in increased likelihood of children having learning disabilities or congenital problems
◦ Communicable diseases run rampant in urban slums due to lack of sanitation issues (e.g. sewage
disposal, water pollution, etc.)
◦ HIV/AIDS threats high in Brazil’s cities and widespread across all of South Africa (rural and urban
areas)
South Africa has the highest number of HIV-positive people in the world
24% of pregnant urban South African women are infected
Effects South Africa’s ability to produce and maintain a teaching workforce
Urban slums have higher crime and violence rates
◦ Brazil and South Africa both undergoing intensive urbanization
◦ Brazilian Favelas have become centers of organized crime
Results in lack of qualified people willing to work in dangerous school settings and limited public school services
provided
Resident Associations formed to provide basic schooling to children in the favelas
11. Poor uninformed about the benefits of education
Brazil
◦ Paulo Friere (1921-1997)
◦ Began work in Northeast Brazil to promote literacy (3/4 of population
was illiterate)
◦ Central goal of his life’s work
◦ Pedagogy of the Oppressed – most famous and influential writing
◦ Saw literacy as a tool for the poor the develop concientizacao ( a level
of consciousness) of their own oppressors in order to gain
empowerment and determination to change their lives
South Africa
◦ Poverty follows racial lines as a result of historically institutionalized
separatist/racist policies of apartheid
◦ Inequalities in education opportunities is a focus of the struggle of the
black majority
12. Brazilian construct of “race” is complex:
◦ -People having same skin color can be categorized differently based on other physical
characteristics.
◦ -Social standings affects racial designation as well, with people of higher social status being
perceived as “whiter”
◦ -Social familiarity- the degree to which a person is already known and familiar- further
increases one’s likelihood of being perceived as “white”
Black Brazilian’s access to education is more constrained than that afforded to whites. Illiteracy
rates twice that in blacks compared to whites in Brazil (thus poverty is more of an issue among
black Brazilians that for whites).
Should be noted that this belief is similar to the United State’s perception that “whiter is higher
status than black”.
“South Africa’s discriminatory education practices, in contrast, existed well before the onset of
apartheid with the earliest colonization of the territory now known as South Africa”.
The Indigenous Knowledge movement represented an ideological stance and effort toward
integrating knowledge systems of indigenous groups within education, medicine, business and
industry.
More recently, education practices in democratic curriculum development has led to the
construction of lessons that are culturally relevant to indigenous groups in sub-Saharan Africa,
including South Africa.
13. “de Lange Committee Report on Education in South Africa”:
◦ -give “equality of educational quality”
◦ - aim: identify and document inequalities in order, presumably to correct them.
◦ -government’s response: approved the report, yet stated that freedom of choice
in education should be “within the framework of the constitution”
◦ -(historically overlooked response) South African response claimed: every racial
population should have its own schools and school authorities and departments.
“There is no place for [black South Africans] in the European community
above the level of certain forms of labor… For that reason it is of no avail
for him to receive training which has its aims absorption in the European
community while he cannot and will not be absorbed there.” (cited in
Nkabinde, 1997, p. 7).
14. Divisions of labor along gender lines tend to disadvantage females as is well
documented cross-culturally. this effects education participation of women and
girls in both South Africa and Brazil.
Domestic norms and gender norms discourage women from advancing their
educations. Inequality crosses income and rural/ urban boundaries. Poverty
decreases the amount of time men are available to contribute to family work.
“In Brazil, men may be threatened by women’s participation in education on the
grounds that the country’s women could eclipse them in productivity or social
status (Rockhill, 1987).”
Classrooms in Brazil and South Africa reinforce sex roles through depictions in
textbooks and teacher’s treatment of students.
Stereo types of males as income providers, reduces male participation in education
because of the possibility of high rates of unemployment in this field.
15. Kubow & Fossum use 4 main criteria to evaluate Quality Education
Education quality as:
4.Exceptionality (Excellence)
5.Consistency (Equality)
6.Fitness for Purpose (Refinement and Perfection)
7.Transformative Potential (Social or Personal Change)
There are two sets of conflicting values of Quality Education
10.Transformative Potential vs. Fitness for Purpose
11.Exceptionality vs. Consistency
Kubow & Fossum, pp 147-149
16. Transformative Potential is “schooling that propels change and enables
movement toward different futures seen as desirable” (p. 147)
Promotes social mobility of all classes
Does not necessarily educate students for current societal workplace needs
Both Brazil and South Africa have made recent political policies to support
a more Transformative education
Fitness for Purpose means “schooling that refines participants ability in
targeted roles” (p. 147)
Promotes vocational specialization
At odds with goals of social mobility
Similar ideals to Human Capital Theory
Both the Brazil and South African educational systems have been
traditionally geared towards Fitness for Purpose education
17. Exceptionality means “different from the rest”
Consistency implies emphasis on equality
Asociety that strives to be just and equitable should put focus on factors
whose control is with in reach.
The effort to bring equality to the various racial groups and alleviate the
urban/rural inequalities may not have not be in reach. The attempt to
redistribute allocations to South Africa’s schools and bring equality of
teachers simply brought a forced relocation effort was instead seen as
authoritarian and politically unpalatable. This resulted in the most
experienced teachers taking “buyouts” rather than relocating, this
subsequently caused a reduction in staff in a time when an increase was
needed.
In contrast Brazilian education focuses on equality such as compulsory
schooling for 7-14 years olds and inclusion of students with learning
disabilities. Yet population displacement and income disparities persist and
inequitable educational experiences contribute to the disparity.
18. Distributing education in an equitable manner has proven difficult in ways
that respond to all democratic values. Policy goals that might be
unassailable at moral levels are difficult to operationalize to the
satisfaction of all sectors of society.
Affirmative action in the United States for example is incremental and
pragmatic in nature whose critics embody a prima facie breach of equality
that cannot be justified through short-term suspensions of equality in the
form of hiring quotas, incentives and so forth. South Africa in contrast is
in favor of stepwise progress associated with the conservative view. Yet
South Africa’s blacks idealism is parallel to the affirmative action
opponents in the US on the grounds it is all or nothing.
In South Africa, apartheid policies require instruction in the students’
mother tongue; the black African population tends to see knowledge of
English more desirable.
19. South Africa’s 1981 de Lange Commission ultimately noted that “the
reduction and elimination of demonstrable inequality in the provision of
education available to members of different population groups”
The effects of the various “empirically determinable indicators” remain
difficult to pinpoint and can effect student performance yet the de Lange
Report maintained failure to equalize input and material support is
inexcusable.
No matter how complicated the exact relationships between educational
inputs and outcomes might be evidence exists and contributes to
educational effectiveness.
Willingness by proponents of accountability movement seems arguably to
reflect at least some contempt for the democratic principle of equality.
20. Is it possible to structure an equal educational experiences for all people
when the societal and economic imperatives seem to dictate differentiation?
◦Equal vs. Individualization
For work to be deemed high status first society must perceive the work to be specialized (Bell,
1973: Ornstein, 2003).
The Academic and vocational debate has contributed to disagreements in both developed and
developing capitalist countries (Fossum, 2007).
◦How can education foster Social Progress?
◦What curriculum is best suited to compete in a global economy?
South Africa’s educational proposals focus on helping to move black unskilled laborers into the
skilled labor pool
◦Favors vocationalism as a way towards moving the black population to a more widespread participation in higher education
and eventually in the professional sector (Fossum,2007).
21. The school-to-work debate in the United States
Began in the 1980’s to tailor education to meet the needs of industries
◦Opponents of Vocational Education believe that it will keep individuals from perusing higher
education.
Targeted economically disadvantaged or minority students.
School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994), provided work based learning opportunities for all
students while not targeting the disadvantaged and minority students.
Click on photo to view C-Span Coverage
22. Harvey Framework
◦Suggest that it’s misguided to assume that standards can in and of themselves resolve debates
about the purpose and direction of schools (Fossum, 2007).
◦Different societies relflect different solutions to the multiple and contradictory purposes of
formal education (Fossum, 2007).
The debate around these issues reflect these tensions (Fossum, 2007).
◦Standards are based on different ideas of quality
Universal attainment of acceptable minimums
Identifying and distinguishing achievement
The need for educational consistency and exceptionality are forcing the need for a resolution to the debate (Fossum,
2007).
◦Consistency move the direction towards equalization of education.
23.
24. •BothBrazil and South Africa are “among the most unequal in the world in
regards to income and social opportunities (Fossum, 2007).
•Distributions of education are a major issue in both South Africa and Brazil.
•BothBrazil and South Africa have meeting basic needs make formal
education a challenge.
•The debate regarding academic versus vocational education contributes to
disagreements in both developed and developing capitalist countries
(Fossum,2007)
•Quality and Standards will look different depending on the society that has
set the policies.
25. Kubow, P. K., & Fossum, P. R. (2007). Comparative Education: Exploring issues in international context,
2nd Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
