Table 3 - uploaded by Raymond Nkwenti Fru
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Using the interpretivist paradigm and approached from a qualitative perspective,
this case study produced data on three purposively selected contemporary South
African history textbooks with regards to their representation of heritage.
Lexicalisation, a form of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), was used as method to
analyse the pre-generated data...
Context in source publication
Citations
... It is widely acknowledged that textbooks are an important instructional material produced to help schools and other educational institutions to support teachers, learners, students and lecturers in following the curriculum (Fru, 2012). Textbooks are very important reading material for providing content and a good background for students' learning (Thakrar et al., 2009). ...
The results of a study that investigated the readability of three Accounting textbooks used in South African secondary schools are presented. In South African schools, textbooks remain the primary source of course content that drives the students’ learning of the subject matter. The study followed the traditions of the positivist paradigm. The Flesch reading ease score and Gunning fog index are readability measurement methods that are helpful in measuring the difficulty or challenging nature of text in the Accounting textbooks. Using them assists teachers of Accounting who have the responsibility to choose textbooks that would assist their students to make meaning of the subject matter. Three sections from each textbook were analysed: an introduction section on budgeting, analysis and interpretation section, and section on General Accepted Accounting Principles. These topics are very important in understanding the discipline of Accounting; their readability or accessibility by students play a crucial role in learning the subject of Accounting. The results showed that some textbooks are not readable, or are not straightforward and user friendly, and are thus difficult to understand and engage with. This points to these textbooks being challenging to some Accounting students, especially since to some English is their second language. The recommendations for future research are discussed. It is suggested that authors of Accounting textbooks must consider the readability of the textbooks.
Keywords: Readability, Flesch reading ease, Gunning fog index, comprehension, textbooks, Accounting.
... It is widely acknowledged that textbooks are an important instructional material produced to help schools and other educational institutions to support teachers, learners, students and lecturers in following the curriculum (Fru, 2012). Textbooks are very important reading material for providing content and a good background for students' learning (Thakrar et al., 2009). ...
The results of a study that investigated the readability of three Accounting textbooks used in South African secondary schools are presented. In South African schools, textbooks remain the primary source of course content that drives the students’ learning of the subject matter. The study followed the traditions of the positivist paradigm. The Flesch reading ease score and Gunning fog index are readability measurement methods that are helpful in measuring the difficulty or challenging nature of text in the Accounting textbooks. Using them assists teachers of Accounting who have the responsibility to choose textbooks that would assist their students to make meaning of the subject matter. Three sections from each textbook were analysed: an introduction section on budgeting, analysis and interpretation section, and section on General Accepted Accounting Principles. These topics are very important in understanding the discipline of Accounting; their readability or accessibility by students play a crucial role in learning the subject of Accounting. The results showed that some textbooks are not readable, or are not straightforward and user friendly, and are thus difficult to understand and engage with. This points to these textbooks being challenging to some Accounting students, especially since to some English is their second language. The recommendations for future research are discussed. It is suggested that authors of Accounting textbooks must consider the readability of the textbooks.
... Locally, disciplines like History and Commerce have made inroads by undertaking textbook studies providing insights into a cross section of subfields like heritage, race and social justice (gender and inclusivity etc.). (see Nkwenti 2012;Pillay 2013 ;Maposa 2015 ). Much of the research in SA on textbooks have thus been confined to the subject of History and to a lesser extent to other subjects such as Commerce. ...
... Legislations such as the Bantu, Coloured and Indian Education Acts, which were respectively passed in 1953, 1963, and 1965, all helped to realise that dream. Different curricula for different racial groups in South Africa had the effect of dividing society and constructing different identities among learners (Fru, 2012). The racist, sexist and discriminatory nature of this curriculum caused that system to be recognised as 'one of the most dramatic cases of institutional educational injustice in the history of the 20th century' (Kallaway, 2002, p. 3). ...
... Similarly, the education, language and other clauses of the Bill of Rights given in the constitution cater for the appreciation of the heritage of all South Africa. By implication, the emphasis after 1994 was to build an inclusive and democratic society, one that is united in its diversity, that is non-racial and non-sexist, and that promotes the dignity and respect of humans and strive to advance equality, human rights and freedom (Fru, 2012). Finally, a very effective way to achieve the desired and noble post-1994 agenda was through education and this involved reviewing the curriculum policy to carry the message of change. ...
A fundamental aspect of human existence over time and space has been the constant desire to improve on the human condition. This desire has manifested formally, through formal education or schooling, and informally. Being a structured model of education, the curriculum has tended to serve as a major tool to drive the process of formal education.
In light of this, the changing nature of societies has often necessitated that curricula are changed or adapted to meet the reality of every era. South Africa is no exception to this curriculum and social reality. The pre-1994 apartheid regime used education to propagate and maintain its racist agenda. This was achieved with the help of a curriculum that was carefully designed to create division. With the demise of apartheid, the emphasis since 1994 has been on righting the wrongs of the past by formulating a series of curriculum policies that will serve the interest of a democratic dispensation and the expectations of a 21st century society. To this effect, Curriculum 2005 (C2005), Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) and the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) are all curricula that have been implemented to address these objectives.
In spite of the intentions behind these curricula, recent studies have revealed a consistent drop in academic performance of learners, especially in the areas of Mathematics and Science and Technology. The focus of this chapter is on engaging and interrogating this issue. Our view is that the different curricula have largely neglected the social constructionist view of knowledge and learning as propagated by Lev Vygotsky. This perspective sees learning as a social process that can only be successful when learners’ social experiences are incorporated into the learning process.
... In the context of South Africa, the nature of History education in contemporary times cannot be comprehensively understood without a corresponding understanding of the links to the apartheid ideology. Education in the apartheid era was used as a weapon to divide society through a construction of different identities amongst learners (Fru, 2012). History education in particular was largely used as a propaganda machinery to suppress the aspirations of especially the black majority population (Polokow-Suransky, 2002). ...
The status of History education within a Social Science education framework of the Lesotho educational system is a cause for concern. In an attempt to foster the development goals of the Kingdom of Lesotho, education and especially Social Science education were identified as a major role player. In spite of this realisation, History education, and to a lesser extent Geography education was identified as liabilities that could be substituted with other disciplines such as Development Studies. Geography had, however, gradually regained a position as a major Social Science discipline while History education is still considered unimportant in relation to national needs. The evidence is that many schools in Lesotho do not offer History as a subject and both students and teachers of history are not taken seriously as academics. Against this backdrop, this article explores the situation from historical and pedagogic perspectives. I draw considerable examples from contexts such as Cameroon and South Africa, where I have had the opportunity to experience the fragile nature and status of History education both as student and teacher/lecturer. I then suggest why any consideration of Social Sciences with the exclusion of History education will not lead to the desired national goals, thereby justifying the need for a turnaround strategy that favours the teaching and learning of History in Lesotho. The article concludes with recommendations and the prospects for the future, based on the issues raised and discussed.
The History Ministerial Task Team Report (HMTT) on the proposed compulsory school history in South Africa was made public in February 2018. Ever since, it has generated many debates and concerns among in- and pre-service history educators, History (of) Education scholars as well as the general public. Many of these concerns are premised on the fear that there is an attempt, at least by the state, through the work of the HMTT to (re)capture school history. This (re)capture, some argue, would deliver a school history that is both nationalist and patriotic in its approach, and glorifies only the African National Congress's (ANC) role in history, much in the same way as the apartheid curriculum glorified the role of the National Party (NP), Afrikaner nationalism and white supremacy thinking. However, we are convinced that there might as well be a different reading of the HMTT and its Report; thus, a different form of (re)capture. In this paper, we will explore, theorise and reflect on the HMTT's work and Report, as well as recent scholarly debates regarding the HMTT itself and its Report. This we do by employing the notion of (re)capture as our theoretical framework which is derived from the current 'state capture' discourse in South Africa. We then use this theoretical lens to review literature on the contested epistemic nature of school history, as well as to read and make sense of the HMTT and its Report. We conclude that those who argue that there are indeed attempts to (re)capture the school history for narrow nationalistic aspirations which are nativist in nature, provide us with a different reading of the HMTT and its report. We contend that the form of (re)capture advanced by the HMTT, and its Report is for a greater cause related to current calls for decolonisation and Africanisation of school history in post-apartheid South Africa - where the colonised ways of knowing and being can also take centre stage in the historical literature and where cognitive, epistemic, existential, and ontological justice is realised.
“Social cohesion” is a complex concept, characterised by a “prism of meanings”. In South Africa social cohesion has been tied to the question of nation building, with the arts, culture and heritage domains having been identified as key players in this ethical task, since the idea is that social cohesion would be promoted if citizens were sensitised to the diversity of identities. Despite these ideals, however, social cohesion among South Africans still seems far away. This is not merely due to practical capacity and economic issues, but also because of operational challenges. In this article, I argue that the ongoing statue debates on South African public university campuses (specifically a case study of events at the University of the Free State from 2008 to date) offer a critical opportunity to reflect on the relationship between social cohesion and identity. However, the moment risks being lost due to the current understanding that the statue debates represent only identity polarisation and the breakdown of social cohesion, cynicism about these very concepts, and operational confusion. The question arises of whether we could think differently regarding heritage and social cohesion. Could we view the conflicts and contradictions around these statues as spaces for ongoing re-imagination, and the pursuit of identity as a continual process of negotiation?
