Teacher Attitudes and Beliefs in Language of Instruction in a Desegregated School Environment in South Africa

Abstract

This study mainly aimed to describe the attitudes of teachers in a former “whites only” school of South Africa. The attitude was determined towards the language on instruction and the learner’s proficiency in English. The data was gathered interviews, documents and observation. On the other hand, the Afrikaans speaking white learners are taught in their mother tongue, Afrikaans while the Black learners are taught in Afrikaans their mother tongue. The perception of these white teachers is that the Black learners cannot cope with the language of instruction which is Englsih, and that they should be taught in their own native languages a situation very much like apartheid or segregation. Therefore desegregation per se does not lead to predictable and meaningful changes in the attitudes of groups to each other and can, in fact, lead to the heightening of tension and prejudices.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1064