Democratic Citizenship Education in South Africa

Abstract

Underscoring the immense educational policy reform which accompanied the emergence of a democratic South Africa is an emphasis of the (re)alignment of rights, justice, and equitable access. It soon became apparent that, although educational reform aligned itself with notions of democratic citizenship education, inadequate attention was being given to, on the one hand, the capacity of teachers, and on the other hand, the willingness of teachers to assume responsibility for their roles as facilitators of citizenship education. The concern of this chapter is to consider the role of “the teacher” in relation to educational policy. Secondly, attention is given to the types of interventions availed to teachers in their roles as the facilitators of democratic citizenship education. The chapter concludes by showing that not only has educational policy reform been remiss of “the teacher,” but it is also this inattention that continues to undermine the democratic agenda within schools and beyond.